AEJMC Deadline is April 1

The annual AEJMC national convention is back in Washington, D.C., in August. The call for papers at the intersection of media and religion is posted along with the general call. Papers for all divisions and interest groups must be submitted through All Academic by midnight April 1. Discounted early-bird registration is available until July 9.

The Year in Religion and Media News

Rick Moore chronicles seven stories from 2017 that show the timely timelessness of studying the interaction of media and religion.

News and Projects From Your Colleagues

Reflections on a Student Trip to Haiti

Sahar Khamis Publishes Book Chapter on European Muslims

“The Internet and New Communication Dynamics Among Diasporic Muslims: Opportunities, Challenges, and Paradoxes” appears in a new collection edited by Merve Kayikçi and Leen d’Haenens, European Muslims and New Media (Leuven U.P., 2017).

Sahar also has introduced a new course, Islamic Discourses in the Digital Age, at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Julia Duin Publishes First Research on Serpent Handling and Digital Media

Julia Duin, formerly the Snedden Chair at the University of Alaska/Fairbanks, has published her sixth book: In the House of the Serpent Handler: A Story of Faith and Fleeting Fame in an Age of Social Media with the University of Tennessee Press. It is the first study of how practitioners of this 100-year-old custom have interacted with Facebook and other 21st-century innovations and one of only a few books studying this unusual group of Christian believers.

Now based in Seattle, she was just named the winner of the 2018 Wilbur Award for best magazine writing for her November 2017 piece in the Washington Post about televangelist and Trump spiritual advisor Paula White.

Survey on Use of ResearchGate

Raluca Cozma (Kansas State) and Daniela Dimitrova (Iowa State) are conducting a 10- to 15-minute survey on how academics are using ResearchGate. The survey is available at ResearchGateInAcademia.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) is looking to partner with some of the other AEJMC divisions and interest groups to co-sponsor panels dealing with teaching and professional freedom & responsibility (PFR).

If you have any ideas, please contact Mariam Alkazemi at alkazemi[dot]m[at]gust[dot]edu[dot]kw and Gregory Perreault perreaultgp[at]appstate[dot]edu by Wednesday, October 4th. We look forward to working with you.

Adam Brett, the social media manager for the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion (NABPR), shared the link for the call for papers for the group’s annual meeting. For more information, please click on the linked URL: https://nabpr.org/2018-nabpr-call-for-papers/.

Chicago has long been an important city for people interested in studying religion and culture — most notably thanks to its hosting of the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions. During the 2017 AEJMC pre-conference session, a group of RMIG members continued the recent tradition of visiting important sacred sites in the convention’s host city.

This year’s tour began north of the city, with a visit to the Baha’i House of Worship in Willmette — the only one in North America and one of only eight in the world. After a scenic drive down Lakeshore, the tour stopped at Soka Gakkai International’s Chicago Buddhist Culture Center. The group then made it to the Downtown Islamic Center in time for midday prayers, followed by lunch and a robust discussion with members of the community about media coverage of Islam. Next, Rabbi Gerry Rosenberg of Chicago Loop Synagogue discussed that facility’s architectural features. The last stop was Grace Place, the current incarnation of Grace Episcopal Church, which functions as a community center that is deeply engaged with the local community.

The tour was organized by incoming RMIG Research Chair Brian J. Bowe, and 2016-17 Head Joel Campbell drove.

”The 2017 sacred spaces tour was extremely beneficial to me as a person who teaches and researches in the area of mass communication and religion,” said current RMIG Head Rick Moore. “Brian lined up some great sites, each of which had local adherents who could really speak to issues related to their own faith traditions, and how they interact with media. The event combined the best elements of a sight-seeing tour, a seminar, and a party, all rolled into one eventful day. This was one of the most productive and enjoyable elements professional elements of the last year for me.”

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is proud to present its officers for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Head: Rick Moore, Boise State University

Rick Moore earned his doctorate from the University of Oregon and has taught at Boise State since 1994. He loves teaching a wide variety of courses in mass communication, both in media practice and in media criticism (including law/ethics).

Dr. Moore’s research interests are in the area of mass communication and ideology. Much of his writing has investigated media portrayal of religious and environmental issues. Writing under his full name of Rick Clifton Moore, Dr. Moore has published articles in: The Journal of Communication; Mass Communication & Society; The Journal of Media and Religion; The Journal of Communication and Religion; The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture; The Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society; Advertising and Society Review; The Communication Review; The Ellul Forum; and The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies.

When not in his office, in the classroom, or the library, Rick enjoys spending time with his wife Kim and his children Emily and Danny. He also has a fondness for old houses (the Moore’s version being a perpetual work-in-progress) and occasionally gets to spend time wading in Idaho’s beautiful mountain streams.

Mariam Alkazemi (Ph.D., 2014, University of Florida) is currently a Carnegie fellow at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill while on leave from an assistant professorship of mass communication at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait. Her research appears in Communication Law & Policy, International Communication Gazette, Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, Journal of Media and Religion, Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture, Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism and Health Environments Research & Design Journal. Dr. Alkazemi has been a recipient of several awards for teaching and research. Further, she has served as a research fellow the London School of Economics in the summer of 2016. Dr. Alkazemi holds degrees from George Washington University (B.A., 2007, Journalism) and Michigan State University (M.A., 2009, Advertising/Public Relations). Dr. Alkazemi has taugh

t a wide range of graduate, undergraduate and online classes dealing with international communication, information gathering, public speaking, public relations and advertising. She is currently serving as a co-vice head of the Religion and Media Interest Group, which is affiliated with the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
· ·Co-Vice Head: Greg Perreault, Appalachian State University

Gregory P. Perreault (Ph.D., University of Missouri) is an assistant professor of multimedia journalism at Appalachian State University. His research focuses on journalism studies and media paradigms. His research has explored embedded values in journalistic content, paradigm maintenance activity among journalists, how paradigmatic values have shaped minority representations, and how social media audiences shape media narratives. His papers have won awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. His research appears in the Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, Howard Journal of Communication, Journal of Media & Religion, Journalism Studies, Games & Culture, and Journal of Applied Journalism and Media Studies. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a journalist for seven years. He’s worked as a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post (circ. 145, 000), served as managing editor of a hyperlocal multimedia website Columbia Faith & Values, and had work published at USA Today, Miami Herald, and The Los Angeles Times. He earned his masters degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University. He graduated with honors from the Missouri School of Journalism. Perreault serves as co-vice head for the Religion and Media Interest Group.

Research Chair: Brian J. Bowe, Western Washington University

Brian J. Bowe (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an assistant professor in Western Washington University’s Department of Journalism. His research focuses on the connections between media and culture in a variety of contexts. His research specialties include framing, agenda setting, and media coverage of Islam. He has taught at Michigan State University, the Sorbonne, and Grand Valley State University. His research has been published in journals such as Media, Culture and Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, and Public Understanding of Science. A noted music journalist, Bowe has written biographies of The Ramones, The Clash, and Judas Priest. He co-edited the anthology CREEM: America’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Magazine (2007, Collins).

PF&R Chair: Michael Longinow, Biola University

Michael Longinow, a former RMIG head, is a former chair in the Department of Media, Journalism & Pubic Relations in the School of Fine Arts & Communication at Biola University in Los Angeles County, California. His teaching areas are convergent journalism writing, reporting, and philosophy and ethics. He has made cross-cultural understanding, particularly between faith communities, an underlying theme of his pedagogy in all courses. His recent research areas have been trauma in journalism and the role of Millennials in trends facing the media industries in the U.S. and internationally. He taught English and Journalism previously at Asbury University in Central Kentucky. He grew up in greater Chicago where, in a mixed ethnicity home, he learned the interplay of Slavic and Latino groups in their faith practices, media and cultures. His undergraduate degree from Wheaton College (IL) led to a MS in journalism from the University of Illinois (Urbana). His Ph.D from the University of Kentucky focused on the role of media (print and broadcast) in the growth and development of Christian liberal arts colleges and universities in the U.S. (1888-1942).

Teaching Chair: Vicki Knasel Brown, University of Missouri

Newsletter and Social Media Editor: Andrew Pritchard, Iowa State University

Andrew D. Pritchard is an assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, where his principal teaching area is media law, regulation, and policy. He is a lawyer and former journalist, with research interests in media law, media history, and how individuals in modern societies use media to shape their own religious experiences. He received his B.A. in political science and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in communication from North Dakota State University. His research has appeared in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Communication and Religion, Historical Methods, and Visual Communication Quarterly.

To share content for the newsletter and/or social media, please contact Andrew at aprtich[at]iastate[dot]edu.

RMIG’s best goes out to Professor Daniel Stout in Hawaii. He’s had some health issues last semester, but has told RMIG officers that he’s back in the classroom. In March, he delivered a distinguished university lecture on “Tendencies and Tensions of Interpretative Communities.”

The AEJMC conference deadline is fast approaching! The past few months have showcased anew the importance of understanding religion and media as forces in modern society, so submit your latest work for discussion with your colleagues in Chicago. In this issue of the RMIG newsletter:

I was a barely 18 when I first met Debra Mason in a cramped study room in the library at Otterbein College in quaint Westerville, Ohio. Having never stepped foot on the campus I’d chosen to pursue my degree in journalism, she was my first impression of the professors and instructors I would meet who would shape my four-year journey there.

I soon learned I would get to know her well; she taught most of the journalism courses in the communication department and she also advised the Tan & Cardinal student newspaper for which I would later serve as editor.

As we pored over the course catalog together to choose my freshman year classes, I had no way of knowing then that Debra would would serve as my mentor, and later my boss, for the next 20 years.

It’s funny how fate works.

In 1996 Debra became RNA’s first part-time executive director, taking the nearly 50-year-old membership association from a largely volunteer operation and housing it in her spare bedroom, where each Friday she would process membership dues, collect contest entries and help plan the annual conference.

By the year 2000, under Mason’s leadership the association had created a charitable foundation and it, in turn, had accepted its first major grant. It also happened to be the year I graduated and the year Debra offered me a job.

We were the original “Women of Westerville” — a moniker coined by board members that later included development directors, business managers, administrative assistants and a revolving door of interns. By the mid 2000s (and just before the recession hit in late 2007), our staff had bloomed to its largest numbers, buoyed by an abundance of grant funding for religion and public life projects.

Our work was bountiful:

The RNA Annual Conference attendance topped 300 for the first time.

We awarded between $43,000 and $93,000 in Lilly Scholarships in Religion money each year for journalists to take college religion courses.

We held dozens of brown bag training sessions in newsrooms across the country.

ReligionLink’s story idea and vetted source service grew by thousands of database entries and story ideas and contributed to countless news reports.

RNA contest categories were expanding for media of all types, including the creation of the Chandler Award for student religion reporting.

The foundation created an annual silent auction to raise money for conference scholarships, and it successfully held several matching grant drives to further our cause.

And later, when our offices moved to the University of Missouri, the prolific work continued as the foundation acquired Religion News Service following Newhouse’s decision to end its funding; when we held overseas training on religious/press freedom and countering hate speech; when student RNA Chapters sprouted; and when we created the Handa Fellowships in Interreligious Communication last year.

We’ve been fortunate to have had engaged and patient officers and board members, then and now, who encouraged and supported the work of our organization, and who have spent many, many hours in the trenches of management, committee leadership and strategic planning.

But there hasn’t been a single person in the history of Religion News Association and Foundation who has spent more time championing and furthering the work of religion reporters than Debra Mason.

It has been my pleasure and privilege to have had a front-row seat to seeing her translate a fiery passion for informed, accurate religion reporting into usable tools, resources and training for journalists around the world.

I have learned much from her in the last two decades, and there is much for which I am thankful. She taught me there’s a time to tell it like it is and there’s a time for compassion, which she extended to me and to our staff countless times over the years. And despite her workaholic tendencies, I credit her with steering me toward a work-life balance that put motherhood at the forefront while still allowing me the room to grow the professional skills and talents that have come to serve me well in my role.

In a farewell speech at the 2015 RNA Annual Conference in Philadelphia — Debra’s last as RNA’s Executive Director — former RNA President Kevin Eckstrom referred to her as our organization’s North Star.

Indeed, when I came back to the office on Jan. 3 following a holiday break — my first official workday without Debra overseeing the foundation in some way — it felt different without that familiar light.

But I know that Debra remains our biggest fan. She has no intention of slowing down her support of religion reporting, and she’ll be loudly cheering on the work of our members that will be produced at what appears to be a breakneck pace this year.

RNF’s new CEO Tom Gallagher is eager to fill her shoes in carrying out our mission to equip journalists with the tools they need to cover religion with balance and accuracy, and to elevate the public discourse on religion.

As for me, along with my treasured colleagues, I plan to enjoy my 17th year helping to grow our membership, shining light on award-winning religion coverage, planning an educational and entertaining conference and simply being there in any way I can for the more than 500 members who call RNA home.

It is my hope that as Debra watches from her post at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, we’ll make her proud.

In times of war, religion features prominently in U.S. presidential rhetoric. It may be used to strengthen courage and hope or to serve as a powerful tool for accepting sacrifices and losses. In this article we examine the speeches of five presidents given specifically in periods of war: Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Then we analyze variations in the volume and type of religious content among these presidents; we use a textual content analysis methodology to study a representative sample of speeches given by the above-mentioned presidents in time of war. We conclude that U.S. presidents try to persuade the audience that the country is going to war to accomplish God’s will. Under this light, religious rhetoric appears to have a higher correlation with the enemy being fought than with the personal convictions of each president.

This research examines specific relationships between new media and religion. While prior research has focused on the question of whether a relationship exists, we explore technology usage as a predictor of specific religious behavior. Using a sample (N = 423) comprising a cross-section of religious and cultural backgrounds, results indicate that attitudes toward technology and use of social media contribute to how people view religion as a mechanism for meeting needs. Applying uses and gratifications theory in a unique way, three needs related to religion emerged: religion as a means of passing time, religion as a mode of meeting self needs, and religion as a catalyst for learning. We discuss implications of our findings.

This study shows how Old Order Amish and ultra-Orthodox women’s discourse about television can help develop a better understanding of the creation, construction, and strengthening of limits and boundaries separating enclave cultures from the world. Based on questionnaires containing both closed- and open-ended questions completed by 82 participants, approximately half from each community, I argue that both communities can be understood as interpretive communities that negatively interpret not only television content, like other religious communities, but also the medium itself. Their various negative interpretive strategies is discussed and the article shows how they are part of an “us-versus-them” attitude created to mark the boundaries and walls that enclave cultures build around themselves. The comparison between the two communities found only a few small differences but one marked similarity: The communities perceive avoidance of a tool for communication, in this case television, as part of the communities’ sharing, participation, and common culture.

The 100th AEJMC Annual Conference

Closing the Gap: Media, Research and the Profession

2017 Paper Call

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) invites submission of research papers on topics that incorporate themes related to religion and media.

RMIG will consider papers using quantitative, qualitative or historical research methods and accepts any recognized citation style (although APA is preferred).

Please note that essays, commentaries, or simple literature reviews will not be considered. Possible areas of research focus include (but are not limited to): studies of religious group members and uses of religious or secular media; exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups; analysis of audiences for religious news; media strategies of religious organizations; religious advertising; religious and spiritual content in popular culture; etc.

Papers focusing on historically underrepresented religions, denominations and/or groups as well as religious contexts out- side the U.S. are strongly encouraged. For more about RMIG and its mission, please see http://www.religionandmedia.org/ our-mission-and-goals/. Papers will be considered for presentation as traditional research panels and poster sessions. The maximum length of research papers is 25- pages, excluding endnotes and tables. The Religion and Media Interest Group also sponsors a Top Paper competition for both student and faculty papers. (Note: student papers may not have a faculty co-author.) The top student and faculty papers will be awarded $100 each, with the second-place student and faculty papers receiving $50 each. Co-authors will split the monetary awards, but each will receive a plaque. The awards will not be given if the selected papers are not presented at the conference. In order to be considered for the Top Paper competition, please specify either a student submission or a faculty submission on the cover page of the paper. Student papers that are not clearly identified as student submissions will not be considered for the student Top Paper Competition. All paper submissions must follow formatting and procedures in the 2016 AEJMC Uniform Paper Call.

Please pay particular attention to the following section of that call:

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. Follow instructions for how to submit a clean paper for blind reviewing.

Questions should be submitted to the RMIG Research Chair Debra Mason at MasonDL@Missouri.edu. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line when communicating via e-mail.

Welcome to the Winter 2016 Newsletter! In this issue, we are honored to share with you opportunities as well as contributions from our members. These contributions highlight the importance of understanding the interaction of religion and media in the current political climate. To read the articles, simply click on the links below. Each link will take you to the individual post described.

Chicago has long played an important role in the diverse history of religion in the U.S. The city is filled with iconic churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. In the fall of 1893, the Windy City hosted to the first Parliament of the World’s Religions, which scholars frequently suggest was a major turning point in the practice of religious pluralism in the U.S.

When AEJMC’s annual conference rolls into town in August 2017, RMIG members will have the opportunity to visit some of Chicago’s important sacred spaces in a pre-conference tour that is in the planning stages.

The day-long tour builds on a similar sacred spaces tour held during the Minneapolis conference [LINK: http://religionandmedia.org/1401-2/}. The 2017 tour is still in the planning stages, but a visit to the the Bahá’í House of Worship — the only one of its kind in North America — has already been confirmed. If members have suggestions of sites to add to the itinerary, contact tour organizer Brian J. Bowe at brianj.bowe@wwu.edu.

As we look toward 2017, the best way to celebrate the work of the Religion and Media Interest Group is to honor our members’ accomplishments. Here’s a sampling of some of their accomplishments. If you know of other RMIG member news, please forward me a note and I’ll get it in the next newsletter.

New publication

Congrats to Brian J. Bowe (Western Washington) and Jennifer Hoewe (Alabama) for their publication in Winter 2016 Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. Night and Day: An Illustration of Framing and Moral Foundation in the Oklahoma Shariah Amendment Campaign.

Past RMIG Dan Stout (BYU-Hawaii) has started a fascinating venture with a “digizine” entitled Mormonsintomedia.com. The digizine’s subtitle says it’s a “thoughtful review of contemporary movies, books, TV, music and more. In a recent entry, Dan takes his unique vantage point from Hawaii where Pacific Islanders weigh in about the cultural accuracy in the new Disney movie “Moana.” One source cited the movie’s omission of a heroic goddess and the reduction of the mighty god Maui to “a one-dimensional selfish borderline abusive buffon.” Read more at https://mormonsintomedia.com

Mormon Media Studies Conference in Hawaii

Speaking of Dan, he and former RMIG head Chiung Hwang Chen hosted the third Mormon Media Studies Symposium in November. This one was held at BYU-Hawaii in Laie. John Durham Peters, the A. Craig Baird Professor of the Department of Communications Studies at the University of Iowa, was the keynote speaker. Paper presentation topics ranged from making of the “Mormon Moment” to “media representations of gender, sexuality and race and the future of the Mormon faith.” To see the program, click here: http://mormonmediastudies.weebly.com/program-information.html

Very busy in Mass.

Shaheen Pasha (University of Massachusetts Amherst) has been very busy. Here’s some of her recent accomplishments:

Current RMIG officer Debra Mason (Missouri) was invited by the Newseum’s Religious Freedom Center to teach a Media and Religion course in Fall 2016 as part of the new program to educate religious leaders, scholars and journalists about Religious Freedom and Human Rights. The Center is accepting applications through Dec. 15. http://www.religiousfreedomcenter.org/

New issue of Journal of Media and Religion

The latest issue of the Journal of Media and Religion is out. Here’s the articles:

— Third-Person Effect, Religiosity and Support for Censorship of Satirical Religious Cartoons

RMIG members Brian J. Bowe (Western Washington University) and Jennifer Hoewe (The University of Alabama) recently published a study titled “Night and Day: An Illustration of Framing and Moral Foundations in the Oklahoma Shariah Amendment Campaign” in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.

When Oklahoma’s “Save our State” amendment was passed, Oklahoma voters decided that the Islamic Shariah moral code could not be used in courtroom rulings. Though the amendment was eventually overturned in higher courts, the repercussions were felt and expressed across the state, particularly in the opinion pages of Oklahoma’s newspapers. To understand these responses to the amendment, Bowe and Hoewe examined the moral arguments made in letters to the editor.

Using Moral Foundations Theory to guide a cluster analysis of the frames used in these letters, the study unveiled three frames. First, the Patriot frame emphasized the harms surrounding Shariah, and it was only found in letters in favor of banning Shariah. Second, the Heritage frame focused on loyalty and commitment to the American way, again only appearing in letters favoring the ban. Third, the Golden Rule frame was used by letter writers against the amendment, and this frame promoted the equal treatment of Muslims.

The emergence of these frames surrounding a discussion of Shariah illustrated individuals’ reliance on moral arguments to shape their opinions. However, the content analysis showed that individuals who supported the ban of Shariah in Oklahoma were more likely to frame their arguments using morally-motivated language.

Contemporary events have left many in dumbfounded. In the United Kingdom, many media professionals assumed that naturally the British people would want to stay in the EU. The vote for Brexit showcased just how wrong that assumption was. In the United States, media professionals again assumed that naturally a traditional politician like Hillary Clinton would be elected as opposed to someone as untraditional as they come, Donald Trump. And yet, President-elect Donald Trump is currently selecting his cabinet.

What does this mean for us as scholars of media and religion? I would argue that these surprise developments should serve as a reminder of why our field is so integral. Furthermore, it should challenge us to find new and novel ways to share our findings more publicly.

In the British exit (abv. “Brexit”) from the EU, Muslim and Christian communities showcased a variety of perspectives regarding the vote. Among communities concerned with immigration, Brexit held appeal in that only by leaving the EU could the UK effectively restrict immigration. And yet, the “Muslims for Britain” campaign argued that by leaving the EU, the UK could increase free trade among Commonwealth nations such as India. Among Christians, Protestants favored leaving the EU while Roman Catholics favored remaining. A former Archbishop of Canterbury likened leaving the EU to the Isrealites leaving Egypt in the Old Testament. In short, the motivations on both sides are related to diversity and unity, fear and safety.

In the US election cycle, Donald Trump had very publicly mocked a disabled reporter, thrown a woman with a screaming child out of a campaign rally, been hounded by a Entertainment Tonight video showing him bragging about assault on a woman, and refused to release his tax returns—as has been done by every other presidential candidate in recent history. And he won decisively in electoral college votes. It does appear that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, but that’s beside the point: its clear that something about Donald Trump resonated in America. It resonated among white evangelicals who voted more heavily for Trump (81%) than even for George W. Bush (78%) and among Catholics who voted for Trump at (52%).

The “why” behind these votes has been a topic of consternation in the news media. Journalists and pollsters seem to have discovered, too late, the proliferation of fake news on social media. This, taken with low media literacy rates and an inability to distinguish commentary from news from fake news, is a perfect storm for such integral votes.

For myself as a media sociologist, these two events were reality checks. They reminded me who my neighbors are and who my students are. As media and religion scholars, some of us could see the writing on the wall, but not all of us. I didn’t. This begs for further research into religious groups, news consumption, and media literacy. It showed us that there are some limitations on predicting voter behavior (remember that polls overwhelmingly showed a Brexit loss and a Clinton win), but the results showed us an increasing need to understand our neighbors.

Some of these neighbors work at our universities (yes, it’s true) and some do not. But the likelihood is that most are not going to read our academic works. Unless they need to cite it.

This calls upon us to find ways to share what we’re learning more broadly. It might be on a blog, it might be in letters to the editor, maybe TMZ, I don’t know. The problem of course is that this will do nothing for your tenure dossier. But it might help us prepare for, or learn from, the next Trump/Brexit.

But even in a good semester, you know to watch for danger signs — like fear and worry in students’ eyes. An anxious classroom slows everything down. And the aftershocks of Election 2016 have created fear on college and university campuses in ways we haven’t seen in decades. It’s not just our students who are uneasy. We’re as troubled as they are.

The primaries, the debates, the election cycle, election night — all of it created uncertainty for us as educators of media, journalism and communications about religion in public life. National news media got their predictions wrong in epic proportions. Christians have been, and still are divided about support for a Trump presidency. Muslims who feared a Trump presidency could happen are afraid in new ways. A post-election wave of hate incidents, though eventually denounced by Trump, has affected our students in ways we can’t ignore.

We lament the fear. But like anything, it has a flip side: it’s the beginning of teaching we could not otherwise do. Below is a short-list that might help you in the classroom in coming months.

—Teach by numbers. Data really matters when approaching faith, religious motivation and action — and it’s easy to get it wrong. Your students are attentive to religion within data now in ways they weren’t when faith at street level was merely a concept. Who claims to be Christian? How do Muslims vote? Is hate crime mostly elsewhere? Some, by hard personal experience, know perhaps for the first time what data collectors know: that numbers on hate incidents are probably understated. Build numeracy into your teaching, maybe with help from statistics faculty. Religion data is available: use it to help students craft good (or just better) questions.

—Talking is learning. Each of your sections and courses is a unique chemistry. No syllabus can bring effective learning to every type of student with the baggage each brings to the learning experience. Truth be told, many students don’t know who they are or what they think about religion in an unfolding 2017. Hate, in any context including religion, scares them. This link from a Ball State University project brings in some ideas, but the point is to get students talking about it — to each other, in groups, in panels that dialogue about issues, and in ways that get at their feelings about faith, fear, and the ambiguities of belief.

—Let students’ media be their listening device. Students are never so facile with the tools we’ve taught them as when they’re passionate. Put aside quizzes and tests and emphasize projects that allow your students to find the stories of fear and anxiety (or confidence) among people of faith in their worlds. What they find might impress learning on them in ways neither they, nor you, had anticipated. This professor used that approach on the day after the election.

The programming groups within the Council of Divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication invite submission of original, non-published, English language only research papers to be considered for presentation at the AEJMC Conference, August 9 to 12, 2017, in Chicago, IL. Specific requirements for each competition — including limits on paper length — are spelled out in the listing of groups and research chairs that appear below. Papers are to be submitted in English only.

All research papers must be uploaded through an online server to the group appropriate to the paper’s topic via a link on the AEJMC website: www.aejmc.org. The following uniform call will apply to ALL AEJMC paper competitions. Additional information specific to an individual group’s call is available at the end of the uniform call information.

Submit the paper via the AEJMC website link (www.aejmc.org) to the AEJMC group appropriate to the paper’s topic. Format should be Word, WordPerfect, or a PDF. PDF format is strongly encouraged.

The paper must be uploaded to the server no later than 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) Saturday, April 1, 2017.

Also upload a paper abstract of no more than 75 words.

Completely fill out the online submission form with author(s) name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. The title should be printed on the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text, as well as on the title page. Do NOT include author’s name on running heads or title page.

Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. NOTE: Follow instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind reviewing.

Papers are accepted for peer review on the understanding that they are not already under review for other conferences and that they have been submitted to only ONE AEJMC group for evaluation. Papers accepted for the AEJMC Conference should not have been presented to other conferences or published in scholarly or trade journals prior to presentation at the conference.

Student papers compete on an equal footing in open paper competitions unless otherwise specified by the individual division or interest group. Individual group specifications are appended to this uniform call.

Papers submitted with both faculty and student authors will be considered faculty papers and are not eligible for student competitions.

At least one author of an accepted faculty paper must attend the conference to present the paper. If student authors cannot be present, they must make arrangements for the paper to be presented.

If a paper is accepted, and the faculty author does not present the paper at the conference, and if a student author does not make arrangements for his/her paper to be presented by another, then that paper’s acceptance status is revoked. It may not be included on a vita.

Authors will be advised whether their paper has been accepted By May 20 and may access a copy of reviewers’ comments from the online server. Contact the paper chair if you are not notified or have questions about paper acceptance.

Special note: Authors who have submitted papers and have not been notified by May 20, MUST contact the division or interest group paper chair for acceptance information. The AEJMC Central Office may not have this information available.

Authors of accepted papers retain copyright of their papers and are free to submit them for publication after presentation at the conference.

Important Paper Submissions Information

Upload papers for the AEJMC 2017 Chicago, IL Conference beginning January 15, 2017. Paper submitters should follow instructions on the front page of the submission site to create your account and complete the information required.

Deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2017, at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Any submissions after this time will not be accepted.

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call.

A COVER SHEET or a sheet with the 75-word required ABSTRACT that is included with a paper upload should be EXCLUDED from the page number limits set by all AEJMC Groups.

Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. All AEJMC Divisions, Interest Groups and Commission will abide by the rules below WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

NOTE: Follow online instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind review at aejmc.org/home/papers. Contact Felicia Greenlee Brown with comments, concerns and other Conference Paper Call inquiries at Felicia@aejmc.org.

The Auschwitz Jewish Center Fellows Program is now accepting applications. Since 2000, the AJC Fellows Program has provided a unique educational opportunity for graduate students and seniors to learn about the Holocaust in situ in the context of Poland’s history and Jewish heritage. Through travel in Poland for three weeks, during which time Fellows visit Krakow, Warsaw, Lód?, Treblinka, and O?wi?cim (Auschwitz), Fellows gain not only knowledge of the Holocaust sites they visit, but also an understanding of the legacy of the Holocaust in Poland, its effects on collective memory, and complexities surrounding such categories as victim, bystander, and perpetrator. All program costs, except travel to the program’s start in New York, are covered.To learn more about past Fellows, please see bios of recent cohorts here: 2016 and 2015. The Auschwitz Jewish Center Fellows Program will run from June 30 – July 23, 2017. The application is due on January 15, 2017. Candidates of all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) announces its eighth Faculty Development Seminar on Palestine. This 12-day seminar is for U.S. faculty members with a demonstrated interest in, but little travel experience to, Palestine. PARC will select 10 to 12 U.S. faculty members to participate in Jerusalem-based activities that will include roundtable discussions, tours of historic cities, and visits to local universities, research institutes, and cultural institutions in the West Bank. Through these activities, participants will learn about the region, deepen their knowledge of their particular fields of interest as they relate to Palestine, and build relationships with Palestinian academic colleagues. PARC will provide up to a $1,000 travel stipend for airfare for two professors from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and one professor from a community college. Funding for these three participants is provided by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through an agreement with CAORC. For complete information, visit PARC’s website at http://parc-us-pal.org. Click here to be directed to the online application system https://orcfellowships.fluidreview.com.

is now accepting fellowship applications for the 2017-2018 academic year through our annual open call <http://harvard.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ef13e6d75b74b1791f13115cd&id=77944a3e29&e=713200df58>. This opportunity is for those who wish to spend 2017-2018 in residence in Cambridge, MA as part of the Center’s vibrant community of research and practice, and who seek to engage in collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral exploration of some of the Internet’s most important and compelling issues. The Berkman Klein Center’s fellowship program encourages and supports fellows in an inviting and playful intellectual environment, with community activities designed to foster inquiry and risk-taking, to identify and expose common threads across fellows’ individual activities, and to bring fellows into conversation with the faculty directors, employees, and broader community at the Berkman Klein Center. Applications will be accepted until Monday January 16, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

Organizations working in the areas of media, youth, women, democratization, community development, and rule of law and human rights are eligible. The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) is inviting civil society organizations to apply for funding projects to advance and support democracy. Project grants range between US$100,000 and US$300,000. Projects that are two years long are accepted. Project proposals must fall under one of the following main areas: community activism; rule of law and human rights; tools for knowledge; women’s empowerment; youth engagement; media and freedom of information; and strengthening interaction with government. Proposals must be submitted online in either English or French. The deadline is Dec. 18.

College and high school students can submit their short films and win a US$5,000 cash prize. The Girls Impact the World Film Festival, presented by the Harvard College Social Innovation Collaborative and Connecther, is a film festival and scholarship program for high school and undergraduate college students.The festival accepts short films that either raise awareness or propose solutions to a variety of global women’s issues, including maternal health, microfinance initiatives, child marriage, sex-trafficking and poverty alleviation. Films must be 3 to 5 minutes long and can be narrative, documentary, investigative reporting, music video, animation or curated film (film collage). The festival will award US$20,000 in prizes. Applicants must be 25 or under and currently enrolled undergraduates or full-time high school students. The deadline is Jan. 20, 2017.

Full-time undergraduate journalism students can compete for a trip to Japan. The Scripps Howard Foundation, with the Indiana University School of Journalism, is hosting the Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition. Winners will be awarded a guided tour to Japan to study journalism in local cultures, visiting media organizations as well as cultural and historical landmarks. Tentative travel dates are May 11 to 20, 2017. Last year participants visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. Applicants must submit an entry form, a portfolio of their work, a letter of recommendation, a 400-word essay and a resume to the Scripps Howard Foundation. The deadline is Jan. 10, 2017.

Numerous opportunities for those interested in the study of religion and thee media are available.

Please do not forget to Like our Facebook page. We regularly upload interesting news articles and opportunities for our membership there. Further, we would like to thank TJ Thomson, a second-year doctoral student from the University of Missouri, for redesigning our interest group’s logo.

The American Academy of Religion has created Reading Religion, a collection of reviews and discussion of recently published books on a variety of subjects in the scholarship of religion. Reviews are sorted by date or topic, and books available for review also are listed.

Now is the time for us to begin considering our panel programming for the 2017 conference. If you think you have an idea for a panel that we should consider, please share it. Here is the crucial information we need to get the process started.

American Academy of Religion conferences. Four regional conferences of the American Academy of Religion invite paper submissions with upcoming deadlines.

Western region (deadline Sept. 30). Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent to the appropriate unit chair, listed at http://www.aarwr.com/call-for-papers.html. The conference theme is “Religion, Race, and Racism.” It will be held March 10-12, 2017, in Los Angeles.

Southeast region (deadline Oct. 1). Proposals should be submitted through a Google Docs link and emailed to the appropriate section chair. Links and contact information is available at http://secsor.org/uncategorized/2017-call-for-papers-available. The conference theme is “Utopia and Dystopia.” It will be held March 3-5, 2017, in Raleigh, N.C.

Southwest region (deadline Oct. 15). Proposals should be submitted to the section contacts listed at http://aar-sw.org/call-for-papers/, and papers may be submitted to more than one section. The conference theme is “Religion Matters.” It will be held March 10-12, 2017, in Irving, Texas.

Seventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society. Proposals for papers, workshops, posters, or colloquia are invited for a conference to be held April 17-18, 2017, at Imperial College London. The conference theme is “Respecting Difference, Understanding Globalism.” Submission should address one of these topics:

The Asian Conference on Ethics, Religion & Philosophy 2017. Abstracts should be submitted by Nov. 15 for this conference, to be held March 22 to March 25 in Kobe, Japan. Full papers must be submitted by April 25. Proposals are invited for traditional paper or poster presentations, virtual presentations, workshops, or panels. A complete call is available at http://iafor.org/acerp2017-call-for-papers/.

National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion. The National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion invites paper proposals in any area pertaining to scholarship in religion for its annual meeting, to be held May 22-24, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. In an effort to develop innovative conversations among scholars, papers which create integration between traditional disciplines or broaden the margins of disciplinary conversations are encouraged. Although many NABPR members work primarily in the traditional disciplines of Biblical Studies, Church History, Theology, etc., proposals are encouraged from any field, including Ministry Studies. Paper or panel proposals on any aspect of pedagogy related to the teaching of Religion are encouraged. Proposals must be received by January 15, 2017. Send a 300-word abstract to Dr. Eileen Campbell-Reed, 6210 Bresslyn Road, Nashville, TN 37205, eileen.campbellreed@gmail.com. Papers will be scheduled into a 30 minute time period, including discussion. Graduate Students are encouraged to submit proposals. More information is available at http://nabpr.org/cfp-2017-nabpr-annual-meeting/.

Yearbook of International Religious Demography. The Yearbook of International Religious Demography presents an annual snapshot of the state of religious statistics around the world. Every year large amounts of data are collected through censuses, surveys, polls, religious communities, scholars, and a host of other sources. These data are collated and analyzed by research centers and scholars around the world. Large amounts of data appear in analyzed form in the World Religion Database (Brill), aiming at a researcher’s audience. The Yearbook presents data in sets of tables and scholarly articles spanning social science, demography, history, and geography. Each issue offers findings, sources, methods, and implications surrounding international religious demography. Each year an assessment is made of new data made available since the previous issue of the yearbook. Email submission ideas for the 2017 edition to Gina Zurlo, gzurlo@bu.edu, or visit http://theweeklynumber.com/weekly-number-blog/call-for-papers-international-religious-demography.

International Society for Intellectual History. Paper and panels proposals are due by Dec. 31 for the 2017 Conference of the International Society for Intellectual History. The conference theme is “The Rethinking of Religious Belief in the Making of Modernity.” It will be held from May 30 to June 1, 2017, at the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. For more information, please contact the convenor, Diego Lucci, at dlucci@aubg.edu, or go to http://isih.history.ox.ac.uk/?page_id=5093.

Center for Islamic Studies. The Center for Islamic Studies welcomes abstracts for paper presentations at its national conference in Dallas. Topics include, but are not limited to, religion, role of women in society, social issues, the arts, medical practices, beliefs, education, and more. Participants are also welcome to schedule panel discussions. All papers presentations will be scheduled for 25 or 45 minutes. An abstract of the paper should designate the amount of time required for presentation. Abstracts should be submitted by Nov 5. This conference is being co-sponsored by the National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates. More information is available at http://www.naaas.org/.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) proudly presents the 2016-2017 officer list.

RMIG Head — Joel Campbell

Dr. Joel Campbell is an associate professor in journalism in Brigham Young University Department of Communications. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio State University. Previously, he worked for nearly 20 years as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Salt Lake City. He teaches media writing, journalism principles, media and religion, media ethics and research courses. His new-found research interest is media and religion, but has also been active in First Amendment and Freedom of Information research and advocacy. He has presented or published papers on media coverage of the Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, Artemus Ward’s 19th Century “Among the Mormons” show, media coverage of Mormons’ posthumous baptism of Jews, “The Mormon” newspaper in New York City from 1850-1857, and Marie Ogden’s New Age “Home of Truth” colony in southeast Utah.

RMIG Vice Head — Rick Moore

Rick Clifton Moore is a professor in the Department of Communication at Boise State University. He holds a B.A. from Pepperdine University, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Oregon. He teaches a variety of classes in the area of mass media writing, production, and criticism, especially classes focusing on legal/ethical dimensions of media and media’s role in democratic culture. At the university level, he teaches a class for freshmen on the role of religious thought in the development of western culture. His research mostly relates to mass media portrayal of religion, especially ideological and hegemonic aspects of those portrayals.

RMIG Professional Freedom & Responsibility — Greg Perreault

Dr. Gregory P. Perreault serves an assistant professor of multimedia journalism at Appalachian State University. He has a Ph.D. in Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism, an M.A. in Communication, Culture, Technology from Georgetown University and a B.A. in News and Information from Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Research – Debra Mason

Debra Mason is among the leading scholars and trainers of how religion is portrayed in the media. She brings more than 30 years of professional and scholarly experience to her position as director of the Center on Religion and the Professions, an interdisciplinary center at the world-renown Missouri School of Journalism working to improve the religious literacy of professionals so they can better serve a multi-faith public. Since 1997, she’s also directed Religion Newswriters Association, a professional association of journalists writing about religion in the mass media. She is publisher emeritus of Religion News Service (RNS), the world’s only non-sectarian wire service exclusively covering religion.

Teaching — Michael Longinow, Brian Bowe

Dr. Michael Longinow, originally from Chicago, is one of the founders of the Department of Journalism & Integrated Media at Biola University in La Mirada, California. After award-winning newspaper reporting in Illinois and Georgia, he began teaching journalism in 1989 at Asbury University in Kentucky, where he developed specialties in cross-cultural media, interactivity of religion and media, and the connections between journalism’s past and its future. He has been a campus newspaper adviser from his first days in academia. He earned a B.A. at Wheaton College (IL) in political science and a M.S. in news-editorial journalism from the University of Illinois. His Ph.D from the University of Kentucky involved dissertation research on the interplay of Christian media, higher education and cultural change between 1888-1942. Since entering academia, Longinow has been a newspaper columnist and writer for national and regional magazines, academic journals, and scholarly anthologies. He and his wife live in Yorba Linda.

Brian J. Bowe (Ph.D., Michigan State University) is an Assistant Professor in Western Washington University’s Department of Journalism. He researches the connections between media and culture in multiple contexts. His work focuses on framing, agenda setting, and media coverage of Islam. He has taught at Michigan State University, the Sorbonne University, and Grand Valley State University. His research has been published in journals such as Media, Culture and Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Public Understanding of Science and International Communication Gazette. With a background in music journalism, he has written several books, including biographies of bands The Ramones, The Clash, and Judas Priest. He co-edited the anthology CREEM: America’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll Magazine (Harper/Collins).

Newsletter – Andrew Pritchard, Mariam Alkazemi

Andrew D. Pritchard is an assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, where his principal teaching area is media law, regulation, and policy. He is a lawyer and former journalist, with research interests in media law, media history, and how individuals in modern societies use media to shape their own religious experiences. He received his B.A. in political science and his J.D. from the University of Minnesota, and his Ph.D. in communication from North Dakota State University. His research has appeared in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, the Journal of Communication and Religion, Historical Methods, and Visual Communication Quarterly.

Mariam Alkazemi is an assistant professor of mass communication at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait, where she teaches courses in public speaking, public relations and advertising. In the summer of 2016, Dr. Alkazemi served as a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Middle East Centre. She completed her Ph.D. in Mass Communication at University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communication, where she focused on media effects research. She is interested in media effects as applied to religion, and is also interested in examining routine factors impacting the media industry. Her research appears in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, Journal of Media and Religion, Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture, Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism and Health Environments Research & Design Journal.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twin Cities are home to unique collection of houses of worship, but shifting demographics and influx of immigrants are reshaping the religious landscape of the metro area.

A pre-conference tour hosted by the Religion and Media Interest Group offered a glimpse of these changes as well as a look back at the area’s religious history. Packed in a 12-passenger, participants viewed on of the largest Hindu temples in the United States, a Beaux Arts Catholic treasure, a growing inner-city Muslim religious center, and an historic Episcopal cathedral.

The daylong tour started at one of the largest Hindu temples in the United States in Maple Grove, a Minneapolis suburb. To be correct, the single structure houses many Hindu “temples” devoted to separate deities and has a large central tower created by artists from India. It’s rural juxtaposition to nearby farmhouses and corn fields surprised observers.

Next the group paid homage to Jewish culture by visiting the famous Cecil’s Deli in St. Paul serving a long menu of traditional deli cuisine including matzo ball soup, kosher meat, latkes, Reubens, bagels and unique breads.

Next up was the Cathedral of St. Paul, which is also known as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul. The cathedral is unique because of its ornate Beaux Arts styling. At the Cathedral, RMIG “tourists” also had a question and answer session with the communications director for the Archdiocese and communications director of the cathedral. The archdiocese has recently been embroiled in settlings priest sex abuse claims that resulted in bankruptcy of the archdiocese.

The next sacred space hearkened to a Catholic heritage in inner-city St. Paul, but dwindling Catholic numbers force the church to sell the parish church and adjacent school. Now a diverse and growing Muslim population have remade the old church into a mosque and religious center. Where pews once lined the sanctuary, an expansive piece of carpet, with two layers of padding for kneeling adherents, is the site for daily prayers and other worship services. The center serves a mix of Somali and Bosnia Muslims, most of them immigrants. Conversation about the influence of ISIS on local teens was one of the topics raised during the visit as well as statements about Muslim immigrants by Donald Trump, GOP presidential candidate.

The group travelled back to Minneapolis and to St. Mark’s Cathedral. The Episcopal cathedral dates its beginnings to 1858 and its current Gothic-inspired home was built in 1910. Group members listened intently as a docent lead them on a tour of the sanctuary and then to basement which houses a mausoleum with both marked vaults for ashes of the dead and a common vault for those who want to share a common grave with the ashes of many.

The annual conference for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota between August 4-7, 2016. This year, the Religion and Media Interest Group had a total of 19 papers submitted. Of the 19 papers, 9 were accepted. These papers will be presented in two research panel sessions. We had 101 reviews submitted, for an average of 5 reviews per paper. We had great reviewer participation, and we would like to warmly thank our reviewers for making this possible!

The annual conference for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication will take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota between August 4-7, 2016. The Religion and Media Interest Group is hosting two research panels. The first research panel is entitled, “Christians and culture: Making and interpreting the news”. The second is entitled, “Framing faith, morals and coping in the media”. More details on each of the sessions is provided below.

Abstract: A randomly-selected sample of 200 U.S. adults indicated their believability of a news headline attributed to the Christian Broadcast Network to test whether an interaction between news source trust and content expectancy could predict believability levels. Overall, the data indicate that certain non-religious people or those with low levels of religiosity considered the Christian Broadcast Network headline highly believable, whereas some people with high levels of religiosity did not—depending on whether they were surprised on unsurprised that the headline was attributed to CBN—and not just because of their religiosity level. In fact, religiosity was not a statistically significant predictor of believability in a regression model with news source trust, news content expectancy, and its interaction. This provides new insights to whether non-secular media outlets could be considered valuable news sources for people outside the traditional, religious target audience for those organizations.

Abstract: This study sought to understand how working Christian journalists perceive themselves in terms of how their faith shapes their professional practice. An international survey of self-identified Christian journalists showed that they perceive themselves differently from their secular counterparts primarily in terms of ideology (ethics and public service). Younger Christian journalists were the drivers of these perceptions more so than older journalists, who remain more tied to traditional journalistic practice. Interestingly, those who worked at non-religious media outlets were more connected to ideology, while those at Christian outlets were more committed to journalism practice. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Abstract: This paper is a case study of the 2013 Moral Monday movement in North Carolina and the use of progressive Christianity and religious rhetoric as tactics for protest in the modern media era. Themes explored include: 1) the role religious rhetoric played in this 21st century protest movement; 2) the tone of media coverage; 3) how social media was used by both protestors and their critics; and 4) the political effectiveness of the protests.

Abstract: This manuscript analyzes the Christian concert film Hillsong United: Live in Miami to investigate how mass media evoke numinous experiences. Using a framework that locates technological determinism within theories of religious encounters, the analysis explores how Christian concert films create numinous experiences through shot composition, editing, and content selection. The manuscript argues that mass media technologies and aesthetics can create expectations of religious encounters, and challenges the use of mass media to manufacture religious experiences.

Abstract: New communication media have to a great degree erased the barriers of distance that once diminished parents’ ability to keep their emerging adult children (ages 18 to 25) connected to the family’s religion. A survey of emerging adults (N = 727) finds that parents’ influence is greatest when they communicate through media in which emerging adults are willing to discuss intimate subjects, and when religiosity and spirituality are frequent topics of conversation.

Paper 2: Media Framing of Muslims: A Research Review, by: Saifuddin Ahmed, University of California, Davis & Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna

Abstract: This study provides an overview of English language academic research on media framing of Muslims from 2001 to 2014. Through content analysis of 128 studies we identify patterns involving research trend, methodological approach, media analysis, and authorship. A qualitative review results in presentation of seven common frames. Attention is paid to frame commonality across media sources and regions. Current research gaps are highlighted and findings point to key directions for future scholars.

Paper 3: Morality and Minarets: The moral framing of mosque construction in the U.S., by: Brian J. Bowe, Western Washington University

Abstract: Journalism is a moral craft with particular social obligations. Moral evaluations are one of the main functions of media frames. Yet morality is a complex concept that includes both individualizing and binding elements. This study applies Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) to examine the moral dimension of frames. Analyzing news articles (n=349) from five newspapers about controversies surrounding the construction of mosques in the United States, this study found four moral frames: Ethnocentric Loyalty, Social Order, Altruistic Democracy and Moderate Individualism. These frames were strongly rooted in socially binding moral foundations, and they were connected to enduring values of journalism.

Paper 4: Religion, coping and healing in news about school shootings, by: Michael McCluskey, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga & Hayden Seay, University of Tennessee-Chattanoog

Abstract: Religion offers comfort to those undergoing trauma, including communities affected by a school shooting. News content offers one means to heal. Analysis of news content about school shootings showed the presence of five key functions of individual religious coping methods identified in prior research. Most common were comfort/spirituality, meaning and control, followed by intimacy/spirituality and life transformation. Presence of healing and coping themes in the news reflect a journalistic role to heal the community.

Abstract: In 2015, Arian Foster became the first active professional football player to announce he was an atheist. To analyze the media’s framing of Foster’s nonbelief within the context of the overtly evangelical Protestant religious culture of the NFL, we analyzed all news and editorial coverage of Foster’s “confession.” By extending Silk’s methodology for examining religious topoi, we examine how journalists use familiar themes to negotiate the boundary between belief and nonbelief in American culture.

On Wednesday, August 3rd, the Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) has organized a pre-conference tour to visit sacred spaces in the Twin Cities.

The inclusion of at least three sacred spaces has been confirmed. These sites include:

Hindu Temple of Minnesota, which is the largest Hindu Temple in the state of Minnesota. For more information about the temple, please visit https://www.hindumandirmn.org/.

The Cathedral of St. Paul. National Shrine of the Apostle Paul in St. Paul, which is one of the best known cathedral in the twin cities. For more information about the cathedral, please visit: https://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, a remarkable cathedral in
downtown Minneapolis. For more information about this cathedral, please visit http://ourcathedral.org/.

Although unconfirmed, the RMIG team plans to include two other places. These sites include:

Karmel Square Mosque, the largest mosque in the area serving the Somali community. It is located in large Somali-focused shopping mall.

Pilgrim Baptist Church, the oldest African-American church in the twin cities.

For any questions, please feel free contact Joel Campbell, Assistant Professor of Journalism at Brigham Young University. You can reach him by e-mail at foiguy[at]gmail[dot]com or by Twitter @joelcampbell.

Conferences. Registration for the Summer Session Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies (1, 2 & 3 August) is now open. The meeting will be held at The Old Library in the Oxford University Church of St Mary. Constructed in 1320, The Old Library is the first university (as opposed to college) building in Oxford and therefore uniquely important; this is where the nascent University began. They are also accepting abstract submissions for our 5–7 December 2016 session. You are invited to present a paper on an aspect of religious studies, or you may wish to attend as an observer. The symposium is inter-disciplinary and has a broad-based theme. For more information, please visit: http://www.oxfordsymposiumonreligiousstudies.com/.

Call for Papers. The Journal of Communication and Religion publishes original articles that advance theory and research about communication in religious contexts. Articles are expected to use rigorous theory and methodology to develop insightful arguments that further knowledge, understanding, and care about the intersections of communication and religion. The journal accepts articles dealing with communication within the purview of any religion. Manuscripts should show strong scholarship, exemplary in its research type (either quantitative or qualitative). Writing should be clear, aesthetically pleasing, and effective. Its style should be gender-sensitive. At best, articles will contribute to the stock of knowledge in communication and religion, offering insights that can lead to positive religious, social, and cultural change. Each article is blind-reviewed by two members of the editorial board and/or readers, as well as the editor. Suggestions for revision will keep issues of argument, style, and contribution to the area of communication and religion in mind. The editor makes final publication decisions. For more information, please see http://www.relcomm.org/journal-of-communication-and-religion.html.

Fulbright Scholar Opportunities in Israel. The 2017-2018 Fulbright U.S Scholar Program competition to the Middle East and North Africa is underway. Each year, U.S. scholars in a wide variety of academic disciplines teach and/or conduct research at educational institutions across the Middle East and North Africa. Applications for 2017-18 are currently being accepted from all levels of faculty, including early career, and professionals. Awards to Israel this year are highlighted below. The fellowship is designed to support research activity over two academic years, or 20 months total. To be eligible, candidates must have received their Ph.D. degrees no earlier than April 2014. Prior to confirmation of an award, candidates will be required to provide proof of acceptance as a postdoctoral research fellow at an accredited institution of higher education in Israel. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and the deadline for complete applications is August 1, 2016. For questions, please contact middleeastnorthafrica[at]iie[dot]org.

By: Andrew D. Pritchard, Ph.D., Esq.
Assistant Professor of Media Law and Ethics
Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication
Iowa State University of Science and Technology

I enjoy few things more than bragging about rock-star students, so I am especially happy to pass along some lessons learned this past semester as I facilitated an honors seminar titled “Media and Religion in American History. After the first week, I did little more than nudge and suggest as Maddy, Baylie, Garret, Jeff, and Chrissy taught each other through their perceptive observations and lively discussions.

The class met weekly for two hours. The only assignment was that students take turns being the discussion leader for the week, responsible for coming to class with a brief written summary of the week’s readings and a list of questions and discussion topics.

In designing the courses, I held to two main goals. First, I wanted to exploit the universality of historical writing to make the topic accessible to students from a variety of majors. I tried to avoid chapters or articles that depended heavily on specialist vocabulary or specific technical or theoretical knowledge. (When these were unavoidable, I paused discussion to explain them.) Second, I wanted to course to proceed beyond chronology and explore patterns, questions, and debates that transcend time periods or media formats. Thus, I alternated weeks between historical periods and more wide-ranging conceptual readings. Historically, the class began with the first North American printing press in the early 1600s. Thematically, students encountered such persistent controversies as who should control religious media, how religious and secular content creators depict one another, the commercialization of religious symbols, and depictions of non-Western religions and “fringe” spiritualities in popular entertainment.

At our last class meeting, I asked the students to assess the course, since honors seminars do not participate in the usual course evaluations. They had many heartening things to say about the course, echoing observations they had made throughout the semester:

Students enjoyed stepping outside their majors. The students majoring in technology or physical sciences, in particular, noted that they deliberately sought honors seminars on more humanistic topics than the rest of their coursework.

At the same time, they connected the seminar to their other coursework. The semester was replete with stories about topics or historical events from our readings that had come up in other classes. Students shared excitement and humor at recognizing the name of an important philosopher in readings for a different class, or encounter other aspects of a historical period we had studied.

Students liked the discussion format. Without question, the students’ most common and most forcefully expressed opinion about the class was how much they enjoyed following the discussion of difficult and complex subjects wherever it led, rather than the lecture-driven memorization they encountered in many other classes.

They appreciated not having the pressure of exams. It’s tempting to write off this point with a bit of snark, but these students were as diligent and organized as I could ask for. They noted throughout the semester that they read differently and got more value from their out-of-class time knowing that they were reading for ideas rather than for likely exam questions.

It’s difficult to imagine teaching a course in this structure, so dependent on student preparation and interaction, in a large lecture setting or with less-dedicated students. In the honors setting, however, the students came away from the course with not only an arsenal of insights about media and religion in society but also with an appreciation for this style of intrinsically motivated education in a community of learners.

I’ll happily share my syllabus, including full citations for the readings, with anyone interested in this kind of course. You can email me at apritch[at]iastate[dot]edu.

For Christians, the video clip is hard to watch. Donald Trump is standing behind a podium at Liberty University, squinting out at the 13,000 packing the gym, attempting to quote a biblical passage. It’s in the New Testament, and his staff has given him the passage on cue cards or his speech paperwork. But his citation of it, and his quoting of it made national news for clumsiness. CNN’s headline says students laughed. The New York Times confirmed this, saying he had quoted Scripture “sort of.”

But that was mid-January. And by early May, Trump had nearly locked up the Republican nomination with Christian evangelicals voting for him by large percentages as caucuses clicked through state by state.

Why? Research by the Pew Center for Religion and Public Life posted about a week after Trump’s visit to Liberty suggests Americans might be less interested in a presidential candidate’s faith than in the past. Survey research is notoriously tricky to unpack, but the Pew Center study suggested more people regarded Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio (in that order, by order of magnitude) as religious — in percentages far higher than their view of Trump. In fact, even Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders rank above Trump in respondents’ perception of religiosity.

Does it matter? Hard to say. In fact, it’s the not saying of things — or saying them badly — that has gotten Trump in trouble with Christian conservatives, but also with Muslims, across the U.S. and in other countries. His is a bombastic style of political rhetoric that crashes the gates of any topic he approaches. His political rivals in the Republican Party have, to a person, been people of more careful articulation. And their reticence to offend seems not to have won over the wider populace of Republican potential voters.

Hillary Clinton, a lifelong Methodist, was quoted by the Latin Post as being committed to her faith (she says she gets daily email devotionals from a minister who posts by 5 a.m.) But she, like her rival Bernie Sanders, speaks of openness to people of all faiths.The January Pew study suggested about one quarter of Americans see the decreasing influence of religion over public life as a good thing. And it also suggested the number of Americans is growing who say a president who has no personal faith at all is a good thing.

By way of comparison, the Pew Center, in 2012, found survey evidence that Americans said Mitt Romney’s faith was important to his winning the GOP nomination, but would be of little help in November against the incumbent president.

American Christians, we’re told, have in the last decade or so begun eschewing labels. The Pew Center, a year ago, reported evidence that Millennials as a whole were increasingly likely to check the “none” box on surveys about their faith. This response, the research suggests, does not mean they are not religious — it means their faith is more complex than the descriptors being arranged by those their parents’ and grandparents’ age.

And it’s those young people who are populating our classes. They are unenthused with news, are sensitive to hate speech, but are also suspicious of promises that have not come true for them (which might explain why young people have not fled from Trump wholesale, as might be expected, and why Bernie Sanders’ wildly idealistic rhetoric about change has its appeal to even well-educated young adults.)

Election cycles are a mirror put to our faces as Americans. We see ourselves in ways we can’t when the stakes are not as high, when the allure of voting power rises in our midst, and when hunger for new directions beckons.

And it is in election years, as well, when we see the faith questions of our students become more pointed, more real than ever. Something about a loud voice behind a podium — a voice saying something that draws roaring applause from massive crowds — has a way of setting off alarm bells in some of our students’ minds. Perhaps they hear themselves. Perhaps they hear the quiet warnings of someone they read in our classes (or that they heard from us or a peer in those classes.)

Now is the time for some serious teaching and learning about religion in the lives of our students — students whose participation in the upcoming election could matter very much to the future of American democracy and faith within it.

By Myna German
Professor
Mass Communications Department
Delaware State University

Anthropologists view religion as a response to life’s hazards (Davies, p. 10, in Eerdmans, 1982). Evolutionary psychologists would view it as an adaptive response, with believers selected for genetically because the religious impulse creates hope, fostering survival. Those with hope adapt better to stressful situations and survive in greater numbers.

Sociologists would view religious ritual as binding community, creating “in-gathering for special events” that unites a people, develops a community belief system that is pro-social. Theologians would look at layers of meaning, scriptural texts and decipher linguistic codes through the study of ancient languages.

What do professors do when they teach Religion and Media? Essentially, they act as social scientists, bridging these fields, hoping that prospective reporters will catch the spark and write about these issues on various media platforms. In earlier times, the “religion beat” at a newspaper involved covering church barbeques and outings, new clergy appointments and was regarded as almost similar to a social
“beat.”

In the last twenty years, religion reporters have branched out to cover pressing social issues, ranging from The Boston Globe’s award-winning coverage of the pedophile priest scandal to the first ordination of female clergy in some denominations. Religion writing became thoroughly intertwined with religious philosophy and social change, coverage of racism and sexism. Like business in the 1980s, it left the back-page segregated status and moved onto the front page of the newspaper.

Therefore, a good religion reporter will have background in history, politics and the social sciences. While the trend in journalism education has been shifting toward cultivation of high-technology skills, more emphasis has to be placed on a basic and versatile social science education. It is not enough to know about technology, although that is a necessary but not sufficient condition. One must have the thorough analytical and research skills to connect the dots, be entrepreneurial enough to work on self-contained investigative teams and versatile enough to turn that reporting into multi-platform presentation.

How do professors accomplish this? Professors at major institutions sit on general education committees, university policy committees and shape curricula. These seats offer them a chance to comment on a variety of conditions in the university, not just journalism management. From these seats, they have to exert their leadership to shape the undergraduate curriculum, to make it not just technical or career-oriented but broad and critical-thinking oriented. We cannot afford to have a new generation of Facebook journalists who lack depth-reporting skills. The new journalist has to be a social critic, as always, but interdisciplinary and knowledgeable about everything that is going on in the world. This cannot be “trained for” technically. It involves everything from attending cultural and intellectual events on campus for their own sake, speaking up, writing about these events in a “macro” perspective, beyond attendance that one night.

Campus radio stations and TV stations play their role, but aspiring journalists need to be on-air as synthesizers, analysts of information, not just reporting on events. That is how a good religion reporter is born, by connecting the dots and finding patterns in these events, and then relating them to the “religion beat.”

Bibliography

Daives,D. (1982). The Study of Religion, in Eerdman’s, E., Handbook to the World’s Religions, pp. 10-18.

Welcome to the Spring 2016 Newsletter! In this issue, we are excited to share opportunities for our membership to participate in our activities. These opportunities range from calls to papers to call to reviewers and beyond. To read the articles, simply click on the links below. Each link will take you to the individual post described.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) invites submission of research papers on topics that incorporate themes related to religion and media. RMIG will consider papers using quantitative, qualitative or historical research methods and accepts any recognized citation style (although APA is preferred). Please note that essays, commentaries, or simple literature reviews will not be considered. Possible areas of research focus include (but are not limited to): studies of religious group members and uses of religious or secular media; exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups; analysis of audiences for religious news; media strategies of religious organizations; religious advertising; religious and spiritual content in popular culture; etc. Papers focusing on historically underrepresented religions, denominations and/or groups as well as religious contexts outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged. For more about RMIG and its mission, please see http://www.religionandmedia.org/our-mission-and-goals/. Papers will be considered for presentation as traditional research panels and poster sessions.

The maximum length of research papers is 25-pages, excluding endnotes and tables. The Religion and Media Interest Group also sponsors a Top Paper competition for both student and faculty papers. (Note: student papers may not have a faculty co-author.) The top student and faculty papers will be awarded $100 each, with the second-place student and faculty papers receiving $50 each. Co-authors will split the monetary awards, but each will receive a plaque. The awards will not be given if the selected papers are not presented at the conference. In order to be considered for the Top Paper competition, please specify either a student submission or a faculty submission on the cover page of the paper. Student papers that are not clearly identified as student submissions will not be considered for the student Top Paper Competition. All paper submissions must follow the 2016 AEJMC Uniform Paper Call.

Please pay particular attention to the following section of that call:

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Questions should be submitted to the RMIG Research Chair Joel Campbell at joeljaycampbell [at] gmail [dot] com. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line when communicating via e-mail.

The Religion & Media Interest Group seeks reviewers for this year’s juried paper competition. Reviewers typically have 5 papers to evaluate during the month of April. It’s a quick turnaround, so only volunteer if you can deliver. You will be rewarded with enthusiastic words of thanks! If you are willing and able, please contact Debra L. Mason, University of Missouri School of Journalism, MasonDL[at]Missouri[dot]edu. Thanks!

I know, I know. The answer is “no,” right? The problem is that “we don’t push them hard enough.”

As a journalism professor, the question of “how hard is too hard,” is a question I’ve faced teaching introductory journalism classes at both the Missouri School of Journalism and Appalachian State University. While the students are different, the dilemma is not—you can see where the journalism students are in terms of their skillset and yet you know where they need to be to be competitive for a job. That’s sometimes a challenge, as anyone who teaches those classes can tell you. Because the gap is large and, depending on whom you ask, getting larger. I’ve had assignments turned in where the president’s name is misspelled, where information from Wikipedia is just blatantly cut-and-pasted in the document (“you’re allowed to do this as a paraphrase–right?”), and where the writing reads like a text message.

And so I’ve pushed pretty hard in my classes to try to get students competitive. But recently I received an email from a former student that made me reconsider just how hard I was pushing.

The email was from a student who is far from what I would consider a “whiner” and it is a student who has become fairly successful in his college career. He noted that through the way that I worded my critiques and challenges to students he got the impression that he “couldn’t do it” and felt he had to prove me wrong.

The problem here was that his motivation for his success became “proving me wrong” as opposed to something else. This ended up being troubling for him. It motivated him through journalism school but now he’s not entirely sure, as a graduating senior, he even wants to be in this field.

It is worth considering if the way we motivate students to success–by making it hard–also sometimes forces people into a field, or conversely, forces people out of field they would have chosen.

It’s easy to forget that many journalists just fell into the field. As for myself, I fell into journalism during college inbetween a stay in pre-med and creative writing. But that choice led me to a field that I’ve enjoyed. In a “harder” program, perhaps I wouldn’t have stayed. Journalism is a big tent that requires and benefits from a variety of personalities and skillsets. Journalism would be deprived if only a single “type” of person can brave the gauntlets.

Granted, different programs have different expectations as students continue through the ranks, but I suspect we can all agree that its worth considering how to best motivating students to move through them.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) distributes a quarterly newsletter and manages a Facebook page. Those interested in sharing some of the duties required of this position should send us a private message through Facebook to discuss the possibilities of doing so for the 2017-8 academic year. The tasks would include developing a list of opportunities for scholars and students interested in religion and the media research and practice. The responsibilities would also include updating the Facebook page with interesting articles relevant to media and religion and asking for contributors of content to our quarterly newsletter.

Researchers with expertise in digital media and an interest in child development may apply for a yearlong fellowship at the Sesame Workshop in New York. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is accepting applications for researchers interested in digital media and learning for its residency program in New York. Fellows receive a stipend of US$50,000. The program seeks early-career investigators, including recent master’s and doctoral graduates and current doctoral students, with research interests in the fields of communication, education, learning sciences, psychology, computer science, design and public policy. Applicants from ethnic minorities or underrepresented populations are also encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply is April 4. See more at: http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/initiative/cooney-center-fellows-program/

The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. The organization recently advertised research positions for both journalism and religion. See more at: http://www.pewresearch.org/about/careers/

Journalism Exchange Program gives journalism students and young journalists with up to 5-years of experience a chance to improve their journalistic skills and acquire new professional experience by working in the best newsrooms around Ukraine. The program was first launched in August 2014. More than 50 young journalists have already completed their internships in various regions of Ukraine. And 12 of our colleagues are working in over a dozen newsrooms around the country right now. See more at: http://jep.com.ua/programa-en.html

The HBOAccess Writing Fellowship is open to diverse and female writers 21 and older who must be able to work in the US. The program will give emerging writers from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to attend a week of master classes held at the HBO campus in Santa Monica, California focusing on character and story development, pitching ideas and projects, securing an agent, and networking.

This year, the annual conference for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota between August 4 and 7. The tentative schedule for the Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) sessions at the annual conference is shown below.

By Rick Moore, RMIG Membership Coordinator & Professor of Communciation at Boise State University

With the recent stock market plunge, most of us witnessed something in journalism we have seen over and over again and have come to predict every time the Dow takes a dive. Typically, there are numerous news stories about how bad the damage was. Reports basically ask, “What portion of people’s retirement funds has somehow vanished with a puff of smoke (or, with a drop in oil revenues)?” In addition to this, journalists sometimes try to make the audience feel better by explaining how many billions of dollars Bill Gates, or some other uber-rich citizen, lost in the most recent sell-off. Finally, there’s often a news piece where reporters consult financial advisors to help readers determine how to react. The experts tend to say things as profound as “You should trust the system and assume we’ll get over this, but here are some things you can do right now.”

This might seem an odd way to introduce a newsletter story about the membership in a professional organization, but the direction I’m taking is probably obvious. Our interest group membership could be thought of like the stock market. It goes up, and down, sometimes precipitously. If you are curious about the most recent of plunges, the official numbers—kindly provided by Pamella Price at AEJMC—tell us that our membership dropped from 92 in 2014 to 85 in 2015. Thus, we experienced about an eight percent decline in one year. If reading such bad news gives you a frisson, I might add that our all-time high for the last ten years was in 2007, when 133 persons deigned to check the box to add a few dollars to their membership bill and join RMIG. Do the math and you realize that the number of members in our group dropped by about a third since then.

By the way, Pamella informed me that AEJMC as a whole has declined in numbers recently. I suppose my next task, then, is to make you feel better by telling you how much the extremely wealthy have been hurt by such a catastrophe. But, you probably realize that the Newspaper Division—377 members, by the way—is not going to be decommissioned anytime soon. And, you probably don’t want them to be. Many of you are members of numerous divisions and interest groups and want all of them to be as fruitful as possible.

So, the final obligatory element for this predictable news article about the slings and arrows of outrageous membership misfortune is the “What to do?” part. Of course, the answer is rather trite. We need to do a better job of making people aware of our group.

I would like to propose here a few ways of doing that.

For example, I might note that many of us are working on putting the final touches on a paper we hope to submit to RMIG for the Minneapolis convention. In the process, have we encountered researchers who seem to do important research in religion and media but (as far as we know) are not members of our collective? Perhaps sending a quick e-mail to some of those scholars letting them know of the interest group would help our numbers.

In a similar vein, many of us are part of other professional organizations that might have members who are unaware that RMIG exists. Does that group have a Facebook page, or a listserv on which some kind of announcement could be placed? At the group’s annual gatherings, is there a bulletin board where a simple announcement about the existence of our group could be placed?

Obviously, there are numerous other strategies available to us, and all of them could have the potential to “pay dividends,” or “increase our stock,” or, whatever silly economic metaphor you wish to use. The main message here is that, to a certain extent, we do have some ways of improving RMIG’s status. Yes, the market works in mysterious ways, but there is no mystery to the fact that we can do some things to improve our organization’s economic forecast.

I want to make you aware of an opportunity to join with a group of scholars who might have teaching and research interests that overlap with yours. The Religion and Media Interest Group is a dynamic group of academics and professionals within the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. It’s composed of individuals who think that understanding religious dimensions of mass communication are worth very serious consideration. Every year at the AEJMC conference they have research, teaching, and professional sessions within this broad area. They’d love for you to consider joining them. If you have interest in submitting a paper for the 2016 conference (Minneapolis), the call information is here.

Welcome to the Winter 2015 Newsletter! In this issue, we are honored to share with you contributions from our memberships. These contributions range from an undergraduate students’ experience of the AEJMC annual conference to the perspective of senior scholars on the challenges facing the media when dealing with religion and spirituality. To read the articles, simply click on the links below. Each link will take you to the individual post described.

The programming groups within the Council of Divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication invite submission of original, non-published, English language only research papers to be considered for presentation at the AEJMC Conference, August 4 to 7, 2016, in Minneapolis, MN. Specific requirements for each competition — including limits on paper length — are spelled out in the listing of groups and research chairs that appear below. Papers are to be submitted in English only.

All research papers must be uploaded through an online server to the group appropriate to the paper’s topic via a link on the AEJMC website: www.aejmc.org. The following uniform call will apply to ALL AEJMC paper competitions. Additional information specific to an individual group’s call is available at the end of the uniform call information.

Submit the paper via the AEJMC website link (www.aejmc.org) to the AEJMC group appropriate to the paper’s topic. Format should be Word, WordPerfect, or a PDF. PDF format is strongly encouraged.

The paper must be uploaded to the server no later than 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) Wednesday, April 1, 2016.

Also upload a paper abstract of no more than 75 words.

Completely fill out the online submission form with author(s) name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. The title should be printed on the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text, as well as on the title page. Do NOT include author’s name on running heads or title page.

Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. NOTE: Follow instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind reviewing.

Papers are accepted for peer review on the understanding that they are not already under review for other conferences and that they have been submitted to only ONE AEJMC group for evaluation. Papers accepted for the AEJMC Conference should not have been presented to other conferences or published in scholarly or trade journals prior to presentation at the conference.

Student papers compete on an equal footing in open paper competitions unless otherwise specified by the individual division or interest group. Individual group specifications are appended to this uniform call.

Papers submitted with both faculty and student authors will be considered faculty papers and are not eligible for student competitions.

At least one author of an accepted faculty paper must attend the conference to present the paper. If student authors cannot be present, they must make arrangements for the paper to be presented.

If a paper is accepted, and the faculty author does not present the paper at the conference, and if a student author does not make arrangements for his/her paper to be presented by another, then that paper’s acceptance status is revoked. It may not be included on a vita.

Authors will be advised whether their paper has been accepted By May 20 and may access a copy of reviewers’ comments from the online server. Contact the paper chair if you are not notified or have questions about paper acceptance.

Special note: Authors who have submitted papers and have not been notified by May 20, MUST contact the division or interest group paper chair for acceptance information. The AEJMC Central Office may not have this information available.

Authors of accepted papers retain copyright of their papers and are free to submit them for publication after presentation at the conference.

Important Paper Submissions Information

Upload papers for the AEJMC 2016 Minneapolis, MN Conference beginning January 15, 2016. Paper submitters should follow instructions on the front page of the submission site to create your account and complete the information required.

Deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Any submissions after this time will not be accepted.

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call.

A COVER SHEET or a sheet with the 75-word required ABSTRACT that is included with a paper upload should be EXCLUDED from the page number limits set by all AEJMC Groups.

Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. All AEJMC Divisions, Interest Groups and Commission will abide by the rules below WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

NOTE: Follow online instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind review at aejmc.org/home/papers. Contact Felicia Greenlee Brown with comments, concerns and other Conference Paper Call inquiries at Felicia@aejmc.org.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) invites submission of research papers on topics that incorporate themes related to religion and media. RMIG will consider papers using quantitative, qualitative or historical research methods and accepts any recognized citation style (although APA is preferred). Please note that essays, commentaries, or simple literature reviews will not be considered. Possible areas of research focus include (but are not limited to): studies of religious group members and uses of religious or secular media; exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups; analysis of audiences for religious news; media strategies of religious organizations; religious advertising; religious and spiritual content in popular culture; etc. Papers focusing on historically underrepresented religions, denominations and/or groups as well as religious contexts outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged. For more about RMIG and its mission, please see http://www.religionandmedia.org/our-mission-and-goals/. Papers will be considered for presentation as traditional research panels and poster sessions.

The maximum length of research papers is 25-pages, excluding endnotes and tables. The Religion and Media Interest Group also sponsors a Top Paper competition for both student and faculty papers. (Note: student papers may not have a faculty co-author.) The top student and faculty papers will be awarded $100 each, with the second-place student and faculty papers receiving $50 each. Co-authors will split the monetary awards, but each will receive a plaque. The awards will not be given if the selected papers are not presented at the conference. In order to be considered for the Top Paper competition, please specify either a student submission or a faculty submission on the cover page of the paper. Student papers that are not clearly identified as student submissions will not be considered for the student Top Paper Competition. All paper submissions must follow the 2016 AEJMC Uniform Paper Call.

Please pay particular attention to the following section of that call:

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Questions should be submitted to the RMIG Research Chair Joel Campbell at joeljaycampbell [at] gmail [dot] com. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line when communicating via e-mail.

By Stephen D. Perry, Ph.D., Associate Dean, Regent University
At my former university, the student wellness offices emphasized seven areas of health. I probably cannot rattle off all seven. Certainly there were the main areas of physical, social, psychological, and nutrition. But one of the other seven listed was “spiritual.” Yes, my state sponsored university’s student wellness office acknowledged that students needed spiritual wellness.

In what ways does our media deal with issues of spiritual wellness? There are programs that deal with such questions such as the current Madame Secretary. In that show, the Secretary of State is married to a professor of religion who often wrestles on the edge of the battle between a religious ethic and serving his country in various capacities. But the way he wrestles with the questions of faith are not purely ideological nor are they portrayed as naive. They are immersed in theological and philosophical depth and nuance and require inward soul searching for the best option between choices that many would see as bad and awful.

Other programs have had their faith moments. House had them. The Simpsons had them. Reality shows like Survivor or The Surreal Life had them. While less central to the storyline in these cases, religion still made its mark.

Another of today’s reality shows is playing out on our 24-hour cable news channels that are covering jihadi bent religious zealots. But the news channels cannot even agree how to discuss the religious motivation of the zealots. One channel regularly uses terms like “radical Muslims” and describes some of their attacks for their religious motivations against Christians, Jews, and even peaceful Muslims. Other channels parrot back the language chosen by the US State Department that largely avoids recognizing that the motivations behind the actions of ISIS are heavily religious.

So what is the result of how the networks handle religion? I believe that without the depth of compassion and nuance exhibited in shows like Madame Secretary, the news coverage is likely causing increasing apathy and skepticism toward religion in viewers.

This is a subject that needs study. How does the media’s lack of clarity and depth on the religious issue simply turn people off toward one of the areas of wellness that everyone needs. Would the media be acting responsibly if it were to increase people’s apathetic response toward exercise or toward vegetables? No! Thus, the First Lady goes around championing healthy eating practices, and the media covers it.

It is time for scholars and media practitioners to stand up and call for religiously astute journalists, both intellectually and experientially, to take major roles in the coverage of the activities of ISIS. Thus, we must train journalists in religion. It should be a strongly encouraged minor or second major. Further, just like we expect diversity in order to properly represent the experiences of different people groups, we need to have religious diversity in the newsroom with journalists reflecting experientially multiple religious perspectives.

Never has there been a time where excellence in reporting on religion was more crucial than in this day. And if I have any ability to look to the future, the need is likely to continue escalating as populations and national boarders continue to change in religiously oriented ways. The RMIG is properly positioned to be at the center of this effort. I encourage you to champion the religious education component for journalists at your universities, and would love to see research and theory advanced on the effects of religious coverage.

By Debra Mason, Director of the Center of Religion and the Professions, University of Missouri’s School of Journalism

As a religion reporter and director of a professional association of religion journalists, I knew much of what to expect from Spotlight, the critically acclaimed film that details efforts by The Boston Globe’s investigative unit to cover clergy abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.

The film, which opened nationwide Nov. 18, details the Globe’s investigation, from its start under then new editor Marty Baron, to the first day of publication in January 2002. The newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for its documentation of “systemic” cover-ups of dozens of abusive priests being moved from parish to parish, without criminal charges.

The story line was familiar. In the 2000s, following The Globe’s explosive report, nearly every religion journalist in the country received calls from abuse victims whose complaints had previously gone unreported. Some of us heard from victims decades earlier; for me it was in the late 1980s, when I was a religion beat reporter in Ohio. But the unsealing of court records, pressure from advocacy groups and other changes that opened up troves of documents, moved the story from he-said, she-said, to documented criminal acts more easily reported.

Although documents were more easily found after The Globe coverage, it nonetheless remained grueling to listen to the life-long mental and physical effects of abuse on its victims. The beat lost a number of veteran journalists in the 2000s, victims of burnout from covering clergy abuse day after day. For several years, religion beat reporters wrote of little else.

But what Spotlight does superbly is show some hazards of writing about terrible moral failures of an institution you rely on for spiritual guidance. Each Spotlight team—The Globe’s name for its investigative journalist unit—was raised Roman Catholic. Although most were “lapsed” Catholics, it nonetheless shows the anger, emotional pain and confusion they experienced individually as the magnitude of abuse and coverup became clear.

Covering corruption, hypocrisy, and crime within a faith is a hazard of the religion beat and one caution I share with religion reporting students. Religion beat specialists learn things that make you question, in intimate ways, the meaning of faith, power, human agency, vocation and values. For some, notably former Los Angeles Times Reporter William Lobdell, it’s too much. Lobdell famously wrote the book Losing My Religion, about losing his faith after covering a string of clergy abuse and other stories.

The film also shows, if briefly, how victims of child abuse often struggle with shame, guilt and emotional fragility their entire lives. Substance abuse, suicide and an inability to function in social settings are among the brokenness journalists sometimes encounter among abuse victims. Young journalists, especially, need to see beyond the short-term gain of a story and understand the need to take extra care when reporting on this population.

The movie also doesn’t gloss over problems that exist in every newsroom, with many investigative stories. For example, previous stories about abuse were buried in the Globe’s metro section years earlier. Skeptical colleagues were considerable nay-sayers. The Catholic Church put up repeated road blocks, as did some civil servants.

Finally, as the closing notes say, the Globe did more than 600 followup stories. Many of these were written by Globe Religion Reporter Michael Paulson. Although Michael is only mentioned a couple times in Spotlight, he heavily tracked the impact and followup of the reporting, sharing in the paper’s Pulitzer.

Some of the journalists in real life have complained about their portrayals, so it is important to remember that the story is fictionalized to some extent.

As a recent alum of the Missouri School of Journalism doctoral program, I followed the events this November with a mixture of concern and fascination. Great pieces have been presented analyzing the questions regarding race in Missouri and the First Amendment flare up. In particular, many media scholars watched in horror as a fellow mass media scholar and professor, Dr. Melissa Click, asked for some “muscle” to have a student journalist removed from a public space. This blog will not address any of these.

Whether Dr. Click was justified in her emotions (not necessarily her understanding the law) depends entirely on your perspective, but the situation in Missouri begs for us to consider our responsibility as professors.

Being a professor is a great job and I tell that to everyone who will listen. Professors don’t have to sell a certain number of women’s shoes, we don’t have to work the night shift, and we even get health insurance. But the position holds a cultural status and, by extension, responsibility.

In watching the famous video of the student photojournalist’s encounter with Dr. Melissa Click I stopped the video earlier than most when I saw that a former professor and dissertation committee member, Dr. Chip Callahan, was there at the protest raising his arms with the others. When we’re given our job descriptions “protesting with students” is not in there, yet we are asked to be advocates for our students, to mentor them, and to teach them to be citizens and participants in our field. That’s exactly why Click and Callahan were in the place that they were. Similarly, during Missouri’s less publicized protests on graduate student rights, Missouri faculty participated in graduate student walkouts.

Our participation in the causes of our students at once validates their concerns and perhaps, from an administrative standpoint, also lends them a bit of credibility. But once we’re a part of such causes, we must be cautious about our actions. Click may not lose her job, but she will have to go through the process of a Title IX proceeding for her physical handling of a student.

Similarly, one nutrition professor had an exam the day after the protests, and in the midst of troubling racially charged responses that followed the events in Missouri, he refused to cancel the exam. Several students argued that they were afraid to come to campus because of threats of a school shooting following the ouster of System President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. The professor responded:

“If you give in to bullies, they win. The only way bullies are defeated is by standing up to them. If we cancel the exam, they win; if we go through with it, they lose,” Dr. Dale Brigham wrote in an email.

Under pressure from students and social media, he submitted his resignation later that day (although the university did not ultimately accept it).

This event struck home to me in that his idealistic response sounds exactly like something I would have said. I often envision my role as an instructor as one of a coach—pushing my students be their best and to face obstacles like they would face opponents in a football game. Yet the students’ frustration with their professor was entirely justified because it wasn’t a game. And like the professor, I as a white male, have not idea what it is like to fear being shot trying to do my job and for no other reason than the color of my skin.

Such events beg us to consider what roles we can play to better mentor our students and validate their concerns, while continuing to hold ourselves to the high professional standards implicit in our position.

By:Julia Duin, RMIG Member and Snedden Fellow
Journalism Department at the University of Alaska

The Religion and Media and Small Programs interest groups combined forces on the last day of the recent AEJMC conference to present “Putting Religion into the Nut Graph: Ideas on Transforming Religion News into the Small Journalism Program. The panel was proposed by Julia Duin, who taught at the University of Alaska/Fairbanks during the 2014-2015 year. As one of the panelists, she offered research naming specific general journalism textbooks commonly used on college campuses and how none of them teach on religion reporting.

Other panelists included Wally Metts, of Spring Arbor University; Regent University professor Stephen Perry and Biola University professor Michael Loginow. What follows is the part of Julia Duin’s presentation that would interest R&M members:

I suggested this panel because I was so disgusted with the lack of any kind of instruction on religion reporting in the typical journalism textbook. There are chapters on sports writing, business writing and several other specialties in these textbooks. But to paraphrase the late George Cornell of the Associated Press whose famous 1994 piece comparing money spent on religion vs sports, people spend millions on sports but billions on religion. This priority is not reflected in the typical basic journalism text.

I’ve taught religion writing at two different places: the University of Maryland and the University of Alaska. The latter, located in Fairbanks and known as UAF, is where I’ve been this past year. Both times, I had to put together 15 weeks of instruction not only about how to report on various religions but also some basic information about the religions themselves. Fortunately, I’ve master’s degrees in both journalism and religion and have covered religion for more than 40 years.

Most students at state universities, I’ve found, know next to nothing about religion and even at a Baptist university where I taught two years ago, their knowledge was limited to their own group. When I’ve taught other journalism courses, there’s been no lack of textbooks to use. In teaching religion reporting, there’s very little out there. I spent the early part of this summer going through every textbook I could find. I split them into before 9/11 and after 9/11. As for the “before” ones, you’d expect the investigative ones to have something on religion. Cults have been big since the 1970s, so this omission was inexcusable. Even advanced reporting textbooks like “Getting the Story: An Advanced Reporting Guide to Beats, Records and Sources (McMillan Publishing Co., 1994) had sections on labor, business, education, environment, science, medicine and health. Religion wasn’t even mentioned in the index!

The only thing out there – and this was published in 1995 – was Judith Buddenbaum’s Reporting News About Religion.

As for the post-9/11 – and post Catholic sex abuse crisis which came to a head in 2002 – textbooks, the choices weren’t much better. For instance, recent editions of Marvin Mencher’s News Reporting and Writing book has whole chapters on sports and business reporting and education. He briefly mentions religious stereotyping, mentions creation science in the education chapter and gives a half page to religion in an ethics chapter way at the end of the book. Specifically, it was the last chapter and it’s called “The Morality of Journalism.” As most of us know, it’s the rare journalism class that deals with the final chapters in a textbook.

Tim Harrower’s Inside Reporting book, which is very popular and has cool graphics, has sections on covering meetings, politics and sports. On one page, they list other specialized beats, including religion, environment, children/families, obits, health, biz and education.

John Bender’s Writing and Reporting for the Media, which is one of my favorites, does say in a chapter on feature reporting that you might have to cover Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah and St. Patrick’s Day but makes NO mention of the religious beliefs behind these days and how to be on the alert for them.

I also checked out News Reporting and Writing, published by the Missouri Group. They had chapters on sports and business but only threw in two mentions of religion in a chapter on ethics.

And then there’s Routledge, which has specialty books on everything from AIDS, health, Bollywood and digital storytelling to family communication, climate change in China and family communication language in public spaces in Japan. Also, business, cyberspace law, gender, branding, comics and graphic novels. I went through 840 listings to find Daniel Short’s 2012 book Media and Religion, which includes chapters on world religions and denominations, cultural religion, the Internet and entertainment and the media. I’d like to know if anyone is using it but I will suggest that its $41.95 price tag is high. That is the closest to a recent textbook. There were related titles such as Mindful Journalism and New Ethics in a Digital Era: A Buddhist Approach; Religion and HipHop,Japanese Religion on the Internet and God, Jews and the Media, which is about religion and Israeli media. All very interesting but none are quite what I’d need for a beginner course on the God beat.

And then there’s the ReligionLink web site, which has suggestions and resources for everything from Pope Francis’ “going green” encyclical to a religion stylebook, reporting guides and a religion primer by Debra Mason and the late Diane Connolly. Some things are very up-to-date; other things like the religion calendar, are not. But it’s the main game in town.

As good as many of these resources are, they’re not part of the main course for the typical college journalist. We’re out there as a specialty but we’re not good enough to be included up there with politics, sports and business. I’m thinking the answer is not to write yet another textbook on religion reporting but to think up ways to get a chapter in existing textbooks. Some of these are already adding material on gender, which is a much newer subject area than religion. If we do not strategize how to do this, we may lose this opportunity forever.

The latest issue of the Journal of Media and Religion centers on a topic long ignored in scholarly journals: The teaching of religion and news.

The Journal of Media and Religion’s Vol. 14, No. 3 issue, published by Taylor and Francis, includes an analysis of religion and media syllabus plus a study of religious literacy among journalism students.

Debra L. Mason of University of Missouri served as guest editor and writes an introductory review of the topic. Articles include one by Louisville’s John Ferré on using games to help his students understand religion. An article by Dan Stout of BYU Hawaii looks at the use of drama to teach about religion. Greg Perreault from Appalachian State has an anlaysis of religion and media syllabi, while Jeremy Litteau from Lehigh reports the results of a religious literacy survey of college students, including journalism students.

By: Amr A. Elafifi, Undergraduate Research Ambassador, University of Kansas

In my first semester, I enrolled in an independent study because I needed an extra class. Every semester since, I’ve been able to work on a research project with a fellow student or a faculty member. Research is a daunting process full of obscurities and gaps to be investigated that often are not expressed in textbooks or even classrooms. The critical skills higher education allegedly supplements its students could be overseen by the degree of certainty expressed by professors throughout one’s college career.

The project my co-author and I presented last August taught me a lot. I learned how to construct a survey, write consent forms, fill out IRB applications and dig for literature. I had to contact over a hundred journalists in Egypt and follow-up with them regarding any questions they had about the project. Most of the work I did he could’ve done in half the time; but he took the time to help me. His encouragement and patience were crucial.

My co-author was a graduate teaching assistant with which I was acquainted with, but involving undergraduate students doesn’t always have to go this route. Assignments in methods classes could be structured to investigate a particular question and finally written cohesively into a research paper, or a reasonable start to one. Specifically in Media Studies, professors have the opportunity to teach students how to code texts, construct surveys, or hold scholarly interviews. In large introductory classes, teaching assistants could speak to students about their own research. This is particularly important for journalism and other fields that don’t have typical labs, as many of the students we speak to don’t know that research in these fields exist. Students could be encouraged to attend brown-bag sessions where graduate students share their work or even graduate-level classes. Departments can also offer scholarships to undergraduate researchers to incentivize students to work on research, which should not be too hard because most professors I’ve dealt with have been very kind, encouraging, and supportive.

This semester, I am an undergraduate research ambassador at the University of Kansas. As ambassadors we are hired by the Center of Undergraduate Research to visit classes and talk to the students about research and how they could get involved. The office has research awards (worth $1,000) and travel awards (worth $500) that we promote too. Finally, we help organize events that host work that is being done to encourage students.

Finally, attending an academic conference was important to me because it humanized a very abstract academic community I aspire to be a part of. The most enjoyable part of the conference was witnessing the professor’s curiosity closely and their critical faculties coming to play. In a presentation on oral histories for instance, the presenter and a faculty member attending had a heated discussion about the real difference between it and long journalistic stories. Furthermore, I was able to meet some of the scholars I’d only known through their work—which was very inspiring.

At the time of this writing, college campuses are undergoing political contentions, as are some cities around the country. If there is an epistemic value to a democracy we can truly appreciate and live with, it is one that must be characterized be deepened respect and understanding. That is, one that does not appreciate fetishized generalization. This is perhaps the timeliest reason why the tools deeper readings and critical assessments should be shared with students.

According to the website of the U.S. News and World Report, Seton Hall University has a Roman Catholic religious affiliation. The new College of Communication and the Arts at Seton Hall University is has publicized several open positions:

Also, Pepperdine University has an Organizational Communication/Public Relations position open. The Communication Division invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in public relations and organizational communication, beginning in the fall of 2016. The successful candidate will be able to teach several courses within our majors including, but not limited to, Principles of Public Relations, Public Relations Writing and Media, Public Relations Strategies and Tactics, Organizational Theory, and Training and Development. Additional courses might include communication theory, research and ethics. The successful candidate will also serve as an academic adviser for students and co-adviser of Waves PRSSA and/or The Waves Effect, the integrated student-run strategic communication firm. Documented research interest, teaching experience, and professional experience in public relations are required. Ph.D. or Ed.D is required.

Pepperdine’s undergraduate Seaver College is a residential liberal arts college of nearly 3400 students situated in Malibu, Calif. The successful candidate should be able to express a commitment to Christian mission of the university. We encourage applications from persons with diverse backgrounds and cultural experiences, including women and persons of color. Application review began November 1 and will continue until a candidate has been selected. For more information contact Search Committee Chair Michael Murrie (Michael[dot]murrie[at]pepperdine[dot]edu).

***

The Pew Research Center has listed 15 positions in public opinion and media research. Some of these positions involve analyses of religious populations or survey data. The qualifications for the positions vary, and various types of degree holders are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit http://www.pewresearch.org/about/careers/.

***

Finally, the Department of Communication Studies at New Mexico State University invites applications for a tenure-track assistant professor, beginning August 2016, with primary teaching and research interests in communication technology and a preferred secondary interest in persuasion, political, health, interpersonal, or culture. The position requires a Ph.D. in Communication, excellence in teaching, and excellent references. Ability and willingness to teach quantitative or qualitative research methods courses is desirable. Evidence of or the initiation of programmatic research is also required. A history of external funding and/or an interest in pursuing such funding is preferred.

We have begun post articles on the Religion and Media Interest Group’s Facebook page that our membership may find interesting. These posts vary in nature for several reasons. First, we hope that the media coverage of religion and religious groups can be used as examples for those teaching Religion and Media. Second, we hope that the curiosity of our membership may result in posing research questions that can be further current understandings of interactions between media and religion. Finally, the diversity of the news coverage posted is meant to be inclusive and create opportunity for intellectual consideration of media and religion.

Below, you will find the titles of the calls for papers that will be found below.

World Journalism Education Congress

Call for Manuscripts- Teaching from the Heart

Call for Chapters: Book about journalists’ beliefs and work

International Association for Media and Communication Research

Call for Papers gamevironments. games, religion, and stuff

World Journalism Education Congress

Identity and Integrity in Journalism Education
July 14-16, 2016, Auckland, New Zealand

Call for Abstracts

The fourth World Journalism Education Congress will be held at the Auckland University of Technology in Auckland, New Zealand between July 14 and 16, 2016. It follows the successful third congress held in Mechelen, Belgium, in July 2013. (For details see www.wjec.aut.ac.nz and http://wjec.ou.edu/congress.php)

With the support of journalism education organizations worldwide,* the Congress is designed to provide a discussion forum on common issues and interests and a foundation for supporting the continuing development of journalism and journalism education around the globe.

The WJEC is inviting academic paper abstracts related to the wider issue of journalism education for presentation as refereed research papers at the conference.

Abstracts will be accepted on any topics related to mass communication but submitters are encouraged to focus their submissions on the broader conference theme, “Identity and Integrity in Journalism Education” and to specifically relate their work to:

The abstracts should give a clear sense of the scope of the research, research objectives and method of inquiry. If researchers have completed their projects by the submission deadline, paper abstracts should also include research results and conclusions/discussion. Full papers are due June 1, 2016 to be eligible for publication in the online conference proceedings.

Submission process: To submit a paper abstract, go to www.wjec.aut.ac.nz and follow the directions. Note the following:

Ensure that the document you upload does NOT include ANY information that identifies you or your affiliation/institution. Abstracts submitted with author identifiable information will automatically be removed from the pool of submissions and will neither be considered for review nor possible inclusion in the conference program;

Ensure that you add ALL required information in the form you fill out before uploading your paper abstract. This enables the conference organizers to keep track of individual authors and their abstracts. Ensure the email address you include is the one you want the organizers to communicate with you about your submission and where you will receive a confirmation once you have successfully submitted your abstract.

Review process: A panel of international judges will blind-review all submissions. Paper selections will be finalized by the end of January 2016 and presenters will be informed accordingly.

For more information about the 2016 WJEC in Auckland please contact the Steering Committee Chair, Verica Rupar (Verica.rupar@aut.ac.nz)

For more information about the call for paper abstracts please contact the Paper Competition Chair, Elanie Steyn (elanie@ou.edu).

*The World Journalism Education Council (WJEC) is a coalition of 32 academic associations worldwide that are involved in journalism and mass communication at the university level. They include: African Council on Communication Education (ACCE), Arab-U.S. Association for Communication Educators, Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Association for Journalism Education (U.K.), Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC), Brazilian Society of Interdisciplinary Studies on Communication (Intercom Brazil), Broadcast Education Association (BEA), Canadian Committee for Education in Journalism (CCEJ), Chinese Journalism Education Association, Chinese Communication Association (CCA), European Journalism Training Association (EJTA), Global Network for Professional Education in Journalism and Media (JourNet), Israel Communication Association, Japan Society for Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication (JSSJMC), Journalism Education and Research Association of Australia (JERAA), Journalism Education Association of New Zealand, Journalism Research and Education Section International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Journalism Studies Section, European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA), Korean Society for Journalism and Communication Studies, Latin American Association of Communication Researchers (ALAIC), Latin American Federation of Social Communication Schools (FELAFACS), Nigerian Association of Journalism and Mass Communication Teachers, Nordic Journalism Training Association, Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE), Russian Association for Education in Journalism, Russian Association for Film & Media Education, Saudi Association for Media & Communication, Scientific and Methodological Communication in Journalism and Information, South African Communication Association, and Theophraste Network.

Call for Manuscripts- Teaching from the Heart

We are pleased to announce that we are soliciting teaching activities for our new book entitled, “Teaching from the Heart & Learning to Make a Difference: Teaching the Introductory Communication Course through Critical Communication Pedagogy” to be published in 2016 through Cognella. We are looking for classroom activities that have an explicit social-justice focus. Please submit format the submission according to CSCA’s GIFTS format:

– Title of the activity
– Course(s) for which this activity is intended
– Objective(s) of the activity
– Rationale for conducting the activity
– Description of the activity, including any preparation/preliminary steps and materials needed
– Debriefing of the activity, including typical results
– Appraisal of the activity, including any limitations or variations
– References and/or Suggested Readings

Submissions should be no more than 1,200 words excluding references/title information, completely original, and not under consideration at another outlet (e.g., Communication Teacher).
Submissions will be reviewed by the author team. Please submit your manuscript by December 1st 2015. Please send submissions and/or questions to ckylerudick@gmail.com.

Call for Chapters: Book about journalists’ beliefs and work

Professors Eric Freedman (Michigan State University), Robyn Goodman (Alfred University) and Elanie Steyn (University of Oklahoma) are developing a proposal for a research-grounded book about global perspectives on how professional journalists do their jobs and what they believe.

We are looking for proposals for chapters of about 3,000 words based on your latest research and insights that fit such themes as:

Journalists’ attitudes toward their jobs, including economics, professional standards, contribution to society.
2. Impact of industry changes on professionals.
3. Professional ethics.
4. Gender and minority issues in the newsroom and in the profession.
5. Impact on journalists of censorship, self-censorship and other constraints on press freedom.
6. Training for professional journalists.
7. Adaptation to rapidly changing technologies.
8. Physical safety in conflict and war zones.
9. Unionization and professional organizations.
10. Coping with psychological pressures.
11. Use of user-generated content.

We are looking for a broad geographic range of chapters. Our primary focus is on journalists themselves, not their news organizations and not journalism students or faculty.

If you are interested in our reviewing a chapter proposal, please email us:

A working title of your chapter
• An abstract of 100-200 words
• The names and affiliations of the chapter authors
• The CVs of the chapter authors
• If your chapter would be based on a recently presented paper or published article, please attach a copy.

Deadline: March 15, 2016

Email submissions to all three editors: freedma5[at]msu[dot]edu, fgoodman[at]alfred[dot]edu and elanie[at]ou[dot]edu.

We invite you to submit abstracts (250-300 words) of your research papers. We welcome submissions on a variety of topics pertinent to communication and media studies research. We also encourage submissions that address this year’s conference theme “Memory, Commemoration and Communication: Looking Back, Looking Forward”. For more information on this year’s conference theme, please refer to the general conference CfP available here.

The deadline for abstracts submission is 15 February 2016 via the Open Conference System (OCS). Submissions must include author name(s), affiliation, address, e-mail address, and paper title. Please note that this deadline will not be extended. Individual papers and panels are possible, but all proposals must be submitted through the OCS from 1 December 2015 to 15 February 2016. Early submission is strongly encouraged. There are to be no email submissions of abstracts addressed to any Section or Working Group Head.

An author can submit a maximum of two (2) abstracts to two (2) separate sections or working groups. It is expected that for the most part, only one (1) abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same applicant either individually or as part of any group of authors. Please also note that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other Sections or Working Groups of the Association for consideration. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System, by the relevant Head or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Such applicants risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

Upon submission of an abstract, you will be asked to confirm that your submission is original and that it has not been previously published in the form presented. You will also be given an opportunity to declare if your submission is currently before another conference for consideration.

Unlike other sections of IAMCR, if you are submitting a work in progress, ESN welcomes your submission! Please state that it is a work in progress in your abstract. Please bear in mind, however, that presenters are expected to bring to the conference work that has reached some degree of development. Prior to the conference, each presenter needs to upload a completed paper to the OCS. Discussant feedback has a special place in ESN and is often provided by Chairs of other sections or working groups that ESN members may wish to join. Therefore, a timely submission of the full paper ensures comments and questions by esteemed senior scholars in the field.

This year, ESN will host two co-sponsored sessions. We welcome submissions that tackle the intersections of gender, identity and sexuality with media and communication processes for our joint panel with the Gender and Communication Section. We also welcome submissions that examine regulatory and legal frameworks for media and communication from a wide range of conceptual and methodological perspectives for a joint panel with IAMCR’s Law Section entitled “Emerging Scholars’ Panel on Communication Law.” Please indicate in your abstract if you would like to be considered for any of these joint sessions.

Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be communicated to individual authors by the Section co-chairs on 8 April 2016. For those whose abstracts are accepted, conference papers are to be submitted by June 30, 2015.

Conference registration will be open in March 2016. Please make sure to inform ESN co-chairs if you are unable to present your paper at the conference by April 28, 2016 at the latest. Failure to do so disrupts the flow of the conference and is disrespectful to fellow presenters. It may also result in a suspension to present at the following IAMCR conference.

Therefore, we especially look for works in progress from graduate students and new university instructors/professors who are interested in substantial feedback and comments intended to advance their projects.

The ESN organizes emerging scholar panels and joint panels with other sections. Our emerging scholar panels provide a comfortable environment for the presentation of theses and works in progress, where emerging scholars can receive feedback from colleagues also at the beginning of their careers and from senior scholars who act as respondents to individual papers.

In line with the purpose of our section, the ESN also organizes panels and special sessions about issues affecting emerging scholars, such as:

Further announcements on panels and events on such topics, and practical information on the ESN mentorship programme, will follow over the coming months. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the section co-chairs Francesca Musiani <francesca.musiani(at)cnrs.fr> and Sandra Ristovska <sristovska(at)asc.upenn.edu>.

Important dates and deadlines to keep in mind:

1 December 2015 Open Computer System (OCS) available for abstract submission15 February 2016 Deadline for submissions8 April 2016 Notification of acceptances of abstracts15 April 2016 Deadline to apply for travel grants and awards28 April 2016 Deadline to confirm your participation20 May 2016 Last day to register at discounted early-bird fee30 June 2016 Deadline for full paper submission7 July 2016 Final conference programme published on the website27-31 July 2016 IAMCR 2016 Conference

CALL FOR PAPERS: Feminist Media Histories: An International Journal/

Special Issue on Middle Eastern Media

Guest Editor: **Eylem Atakav

We invite proposals for a special issue of /Feminist Media Histories/ devoted to Middle Eastern Media. Considerations of difference in religion, nationality, race and ethnicity remain crucial to interrogating feminist media histories across diverse social and political contexts. This special issue will explore feminist media histories in the Middle East, through an examination of different media forms, practices, audiences, and institutions. We are interested in articles that are historical in scope and that consider a range of media including film, television, radio, video, playable media, and digital technology.

We are also interested in photo essays, oral history interviews, and reprints of notable original documents.

Interested contributors should *contact guest editor Eylem Atakav* directly, sending a 300-word proposal no later than *February 1, 2016: *E.Atakav [at] uea [dot] ac [dot] uk.**Contributors will be notified by March 1, 2016; articles will be due June 1, 2016.

Feminist Media Histories is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal devoted to feminist histories of film, video, audio, and digital technologies across a range of periods and global contexts. Inter-medial and trans-national in approach, Feminist Media Histories examines the historical role gender has played in varied media technologies, and documents women’s engagement with these media as audiences and users, creators and executives, critics and theorists, technicians and laborers, educators and activists. Feminist Media Histories is published by the University of California Press. More information is available here: http://fmh.ucpress.edu/content/submit

The online journal gamevironments, http://www.gamevironments.org/, highlighting video gaming as related to religion, culture, and society, invites paper submissions for its next regular issue.

As the journal’s title suggests, researching video games by today is not limited to the established media-centered approaches. On the contrary, also the ‘games/gaming’ – ‘environments’ and actor-centered approaches need to be highlighted. Gamevironments consist of both, the technical environments of video games/gaming and the cultural environments of video games/gaming. The journal welcomes contributions applying all approaches and highlighting all fields of investigation related to video games/gaming and religion, culture, and society in the diverse global video game and gaming landscape.

We include different categories of texts in the journal: regular academic articles, interviews (f.e. with games designers), research reports, book reviews and game reviews. For more information, please see http://www.gamevironments.org/?page_id=61.

The slides summarizing the Religion and Media Ineterest Group membership meeting at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications’ annual convention in August 2015 can be found here.

It’s not too early to think about the upcoming AEJMC Conference in Minneapolis, Minn. Aug. 4-7, 2016 . Please submit your panel proposal to RMIG by October 2, 2016. In an era where religion is as salient as politics in world public affairs, we have the chance to create an outstanding 2016 program.

Please also consider proposing a pre-conference off-site tour or session on Aug. 3. These do not count against RMIG’s total number of sponsored or co-sponsored panels.

Philosopher John Dewey argued that the value of research and theory rests in pragmatics or the degree that they are experienced in everyday life.

From the Interest Group Head

Lessons from John Dewey: Media and Religion is a Vibrant Research Field, but is it a Pragmatic One?

By: Daniel A. Stout, BYU-Hawaii

Commencing a new year in the Religion and Media Interest Group, I’m mindful of our progress in the last two decades. As the new head of the organization, my first column flows out of experiences stored up over years of working with so many of you. Not long ago the topic of media and religion was missing from the AEJMC conference program. Few articles, books, and university courses. Much has changed; research abounds, and a scholarly journal houses much of our literature. In contemporary culture, media use is changing, and religiosity reveals much about the cultural shifts bringing this about. While popular media often treat our subject superficially, our work provides deeper descriptions of religious audiences, more precise depictions of denominations, and credible theorizing in a digital age comparable in its societal impact to the industrial revolution. I wonder, however, if the pragmatic dimension lags behind our research contributions. If the preeminent pragmatist of the Chicago School of Sociology John Dewey observed our work, he might praise the productivity yet question the degree of its application. Do our graduates apply or at the very least think with the concepts we write about while working in media industries and fulfilling roles as conscientious citizens? As Dewey’s Art and Pragmatics stresses experiential engagement as the sine qua non of popular culture, it behooves us to ask: Are students equipped to experience ideas about media and religion upon leaving the university?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner laments, “Water, water everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” Such is the gulf between much of media – religion research, and the need to insert it into the classroom. Research should not be confined to journals; we have a moral obligation to tell pupils what we know. This came up in a doctoral seminar at Rutgers when my professor Stan Dietz, former president of the International Communication Association (ICA), was distressed about the absence of current research in basic textbooks. He challenged textbook author Joseph Devito on this point at a conference, who replied that undergraduates aren’t ready for sophisticated scholarly studies. When Dietz disagreed, Devito challenged him to write such a research-based primer, which Dietz ultimately did. The point is, our field will not progress without a rich discussion of the latest studies with students, who in turn, give such concepts life as journalists, public relations practitioners, and other roles including citizens and family members. We are poised to tackle the pragmatics dimension in the next phase of our work.

In short, pragmatics is the application of theory and the expectation our ideas will find their way into actual experience. Where do we begin to make this happen? How do we give research life, and not let it die on the vine? While good ideas inevitably surface, curricula provide outlets for important discussion among students and faculty, who, gradually diffuse ideas into the larger community. Here are some ideas toward this end:

Create a course on media and religion. While the number of schools offering such courses has grown, many do not yet offer such classes. If your institution has a course, teach it regularly and update material as needed.

Engage deans, chairs, and faculty members in discussions about the subject of media and religion. Be assertive in making our case. Decision-makers are often unfamiliar with the literature and theoretical underpinnings of the field, despite the fact that religion has risen in importance comparable to politics in world public affairs. As head of the interest group this year, I plan to discuss our discipline with academic stakeholders, informing them about RMIG and our progress.

Offer lectures and special presentations at your university. Many students will opt out of the media and religion course, so speakers and panel discussions are effective ways of reaching the larger campus community.

Host a one-day RMIG meets once a year, so smaller conferences provide additional forums for research presentations and student involvement. Elon University has hosted such events as has BYU with its “Mormon Media Studies Conference.”

Invite interested colleagues to the 2016 AEJMC conference in Minneapolis and to join RMIG. Be a mentor. Begin new collaborations. Submit panel ideas and invite professors outside the interest group to participate. Encourage graduate students to submit papers and participate in panels.

Bridging our research to the pragmatic realm of students’ everyday experience won’t occur over night. In the general field, ideas such as diffusion, elaboration likelihood model, interpretive community, integrated marketing communication, postmodern theory, and others have made the leap from the Academy to pragmatic use in the larger society. This would not have happened without a prior presence in the university curriculum.

Returning to Dewey, theory and experience have no distinction:

“Just as a flower which seems beautiful and has color but no perfume, so are the fruitless words of the man who speaks them but does them not.” There will come a time when our ideas are put into practice on a grander scale. Professionals, theologians, and politicians will seek us out as they ponder the media – religion question. This requires bolder action on our part including accelerated efforts to make our case for greater prominence in communication programs. Take a dean to lunch this week!

Starting this fall, our Facebook presence is growing. In addition to publicizing our activities, we are including numerous examples of media coverage of religion. Please like our page and read our newsletter!

Candidates would be expected to (a) develop and teach courses in advertising principles, strategy, analytics, and/or copywriting, (b) be active in teaching core communication courses in the department, and (c) contribute to teaching courses in the university’s interdisciplinary general education program. Because our department values the integration of theory and practice, at least one year of professional experience in advertising is strongly preferred.

Trinity University is an independent, highly selective, primarily undergraduate liberal arts and sciences institution with an ideal student-faculty ratio, and excellent facilities, equipment, and services. Embracing the liberal arts and sciences mission of the university, the Department of Communication stresses an integrated, non-sequenced approach to its curriculum. Students in Communication at Trinity build their major upon three core courses: Mass Media, Media Interpretation and Criticism, and Media Audiences. They complete the major by undertaking a Senior Capstone Seminar where they synthesize their understanding of communication theories and practices into a substantial academic, professional, or creative project.

Faculty contractual responsibilities are equivalent to seven (7) courses each academic year. Typical teaching load is six (6) courses with one (1) additional course equivalent reassigned for dedicated work with students. This position is primarily responsible for instruction and curricular development for courses in public communication with an emphasis on contemporary global media. We are particularly interested in scholars with an emphasis in non-Western countries and contexts. A strong commitment to the Communication field is important with demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas: a) theories and practices of journalism and mass media, b) transnational/transcultural critique, d) strategic mediated communication for social change, e) social movements theory, or f) political economics of global media industries.

While the candidate must have knowledge and experience in teaching their area of specialization within the context of a Public Communication curriculum, a strong understanding and commitment to the broader components of the Communication field is also desired to allow for instruction in general courses within the department, such as lower division intro courses and Senior Capstone, as well as mentoring of internships in the media, and academic advising for undergraduate majors.

Faculty are expected to regularly participate in two core liberal arts programs, the Collegiate Seminar Great Books Programs and the January Term and serve the College on committees and engage in scholarly activities. The work is collegial in a highly collaborative and culturally diverse campus environment. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the mission of the College, which is informed, animated and expressed through its Catholic, Lasallian and Liberal Arts traditions.

Experience and Qualifications:Candidates must have a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in Communication or related field with evidenced teaching experience and scholarship. Candidates must hold a strong commitment to student-centered teaching and research and professional activity at the national level. Candidates should also be committed to a liberal arts education and are expected to participate in departmental and College service activities. Appreciation of and deep respect for the learning/teaching environment and for the students, staff and faculty who comprise it and the willingness to embrace the Lasallian commitment to teaching and learning is required. Demonstrated commitment and success working in diverse, multicultural communities, preferably in higher education settings should be apparent.

The Russert Department of Communication and Theatre Arts seeks a candidate for a full-time tenure track position at the AssociateorAssistant Professor level to teach in the Integrated Marketing Communication track both at the undergraduate and Master’s levels. The successful candidate will possess the following minimum qualifications: PhD in Integrated Marketing Communication, Public Relations or related field; professional Public Relations experience; experience in teaching courses in PR Writing and Research, Social and Digital Media, Health Communication, and/or other subjects in the candidate’s area of specialty; knowledge and expertise in utilizing technology in IMC campaigns. Preference will be given to candidates with a demonstrable record of culturally-responsive teaching. In addition to a PhD, the associate level position requires at least 7 years of previous teaching experience at the college/ university level.

Additional responsibilities include student advising, assisting in PRSSA advising, service on department and/or university committees, research, mentoring senior capstone projects, and continuing professional development. A demonstrated track-record of working with students, colleagues, and community members that contribute to diverse cultural perspectives related to integrated marketing communication is expected.

John Carroll University is a Catholic, Jesuit University with approximately 3,000 students. The Russert department currently has one of the largest enrollments in the College of Arts and Sciences. The department offers a major in Communication with tracks in: IMC, Visual Media, Journalism, Persuasive and Relational Communication and two minors: General Communication and Theatre Arts. The department’s home in the O’Malley Center includes a television laboratory, an Apple computer lab; and support for faculty development and travel. The department’s curriculum has been recognized by PRSA and has an approved PRSSA chapter. The department is also a member of NCA’s national honor society, Lamda Pi Eta. With the implementation of a new core curriculum in the Fall of 2015, there is opportunity to contribute to new and vibrant curriculum. The department’s namesake, Tim Russert , was a 1972 graduate of John Carroll. Since 2009, the University sponsors one student each year for the Russert Meet the Press Fellowship Visit our website at: http://sites.jcu.edu/russert/

Candidates should send a letter of application, a current vita, a statement of teaching philosophy, a research plan, and the names of three references. Summary course evaluations or other evidence of student learning are also appropriate to include. Review of materials will begin immediately and continue until position is filled. Please submit materials to: Mary E. Beadle, Chair, Russert Department of Communication, John Carroll University, 1 John Carroll Boulevard, University Heights, OH, 44118; telephone: 216 397 4356; fax: 216 397 1759; email: mbeadle@jcu.edu. Online applications are preferred.

John Carroll University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to diversity in the workplace and strongly encourages applications from women and minorities. JCU will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, age, sex, religion, ethnic or national origin, disability, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any factor protected by law. JCU is committed to inclusion and diversity as constitutive elements of our Jesuit Catholic identity.

John Carroll University’s campus is located in a beautiful, residential suburb of Cleveland, 20 minutes from downtown and 20 minutes from scenic countryside. Cleveland is host to a wide variety of industries and has experienced significant growth in the areas of biotechnology, health care and engineering. The city of Cleveland has undergone a series of transformations in recent years in downtown and lakefront development and is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Great Lakes Science Center. The Cleveland Orchestra, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Cleveland Playhouse Square are all nationally acclaimed cultural centers.

In addition to the wealth of cultural activities that are available, there are numerous opportunities to participate in outdoor activities. The Cleveland Metroparks represents one of the largest interconnected series of parks in the United States and has hiking trails, golf courses, campgrounds and a host of other outdoor activities. Approximately 30 minutes from campus is one of the newest U.S. national Parks, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, there are 30 state parks within a 2-hour drive, and Lake Erie shores and islands offer boating, swimming and fishing as well as 150 miles of pristine natural coastline.

The Division of Film & Media Arts is seeking a tenure-track candidate to join a creative and productive faculty and student body located in one of the leading media markets in the nation. We are looking for a top?notch production colleague who will take an active role in expanding and strengthening a growing department. The ideal candidate is one who can effectively shape a new generation of storytellers for a convergent media landscape, and can maintain a high-caliber creative output. Teaching will cover introductory, intermediate, and advanced undergraduate courses in film and media production, as well as specialized courses in the candidate’s particular area(s) of expertise and interest.

Minimum qualifications: MFA or equivalent is required, along with previous teaching experience, and experience in media production techniques and fundamentals.

Preferred qualifications: Experience in television, documentary, and/or new media production. Other potential areas of expertise or interest can include editing, animation, special effects, production design, directing, screenwriting, producing, and programming. The tenure-track position is funded with a start date in August 2016.

Application: Please submit the following: vita, statement of teaching philosophy and experience, and a statement of current and future creative production interests, along with a portfolio of completed work. We encourage digital applications: E-mailed files should be saved to the smallest size, preferably in .pdf format, with any appropriate links to websites. All emailed materials may be sent to film@smu.edu and all mailed information directed to: Chair, Search Committee, SMU Division of Film & Media Arts, P.O. Box 750113, Dallas, Texas, 75275-0113. To ensure full consideration for the position, the application must be received by October 30, 2015. The committee will continue to accept applications until the position is filled, and will notify applicants of its employment decisions only after the position is filled. Hiring is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a background check.

Division of Film & Media Arts

The Division of Film & Media Arts guides its students through the practical and conceptual aspects of film and related media, and encourages interdisciplinary connections to related fields. The Division plays an active role in the annual Dallas International Film Festival and is affiliated on campus with the G. William Jones Film and Video Collection. Our faculty includes a uniquely-talented group of scholars, writers, and award-winning filmmakers. Our alumni have become successful industry professionals with distinctions that include Emmys, a student Academy Award, and various film festival awards. We award the Bachelor of Arts, the Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Masters of Arts degrees. Visit the Meadows School and the Division’s web site for detailed information http://smu.edu/meadows/

SMU

SMU is an inclusive and intellectually vibrant community of teachers and scholars that values diverse research and creative agendas. SMU offers excellent benefits including full same-sex domestic partner benefits. Explore Virtual SMU at http://www.smu.edu. Our beautifully shaded campus of Georgian-Revival-inspired architecture is situated in the heart of Dallas. The Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, a culturally rich arts and global business center, is home to many universities, arts organizations and Fortune 500 & 100 corporations. http://www.dallaschamber.org

SMU will not discriminate in any program or activity on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. The Executive Director for Access and Equity/Title IX Coordinator is designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies and may be reached at the Perkins Administration Building, Room 204, 6425 Boaz Lane, Dallas, TX 75205, 214-768-3601, accessequity@smu.edu.

These fellowships foster the academic careers of scholars who have recently received their Ph.D. degrees, by permitting them to pursue their research while gaining mentored experience as teachers and members of the departments and/or programs in which they are housed. The program also benefits Dartmouth by complementing existing curricula with underrepresented fields. Applications will be accepted in the various fields of humanities, social sciences, interdisciplinary programs, sciences, engineering, business and medicine.

Society Postdoctoral Fellows

participate in the activities of the Society, including presenting their own work;

hold appointments as a Lecturers in a department and/or program as well as Postdoctoral Fellows in the Society; this appointment is not tenure-track;

teach one course each of the second and third academic years;

are in residence for the fall, winter and spring terms, and during one of two summer terms;

receive training in teaching via the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL);

off-campus research leave during academic terms is permitted only in rare cases, only for brief periods of time, and only upon written application to the Faculty Director of the Society well in advance of the proposed leave.

are not asked to teach basic language courses;

have access to college resources such as the library and computing center;

do not control dedicated laboratory or studio space.

Stipend and resources
Society Fellowships normally run for up to 34 months, beginning on September 1 and ending on June 30th of the final year. Fellows receive a monthly stipend of $4,600 plus benefits, and $4,000 annually to support computing, travel and research needs.

Eligibility
Applicants for the 2016 – 2019 Society Fellowships must have completed a Ph.D. no earlier than January 1, 2014. Candidates who do not yet hold a Ph.D. but expect to by June 30, 2016, should supply a letter from their home institution indicated that the applicant is expected to receive the degree before November 1, 2016.

Application and process
Applications are accepted through Interfolio [apply.interfolio.com/30641] and must be received on or before October 15, 2015. Applicants are expected to consult with a relevant colleague at Dartmouth before submitting their application. A complete application packet consists of the following:

a personal statement (of no longer than 1,500 words) outlining their completed research (including dissertation), work in progress, professional goals and plans for publication, and any other information relevant to their candidacy,

a statement answering the question “What can Dartmouth do for me?” (250 word limit),

a statement: “I think I can contribute to Dartmouth in the following ways” (250 word limit),

a curriculum vitae,

three confidential letters of recommendation, and

relevant academic transcripts.

Incomplete dossiers will not be reviewed.

Fellowship applications are evaluated by the Society of Fellow’s Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations for appointments to the Provost.

Attendees at the 2015 Religion and Media Interest Group voted for the officer positions for the next year. The officers will lead the program planning, research competition, teaching programming, PF&F programming, newsletter, website and all other RMIG efforts. The new officers are:

In public discourse, there is often a misunderstanding in the historicity of religion and a displacement of religiosity in areas more suitably analyzed through political contexts. The political history of a people is often mistaken for their religious history. While the two are by no means completely separable, the unintelligible mashing together of the two contexts, as is often done by the media, presents unique challenges.

There are numerous opportunities for those in the religious communities to change the conversation about religion, to correct misconceptions or dispel stereotypes through a growing interfaith culture in the United States. However, the news media the culprit situated at the forefront of the offenses to religious understanding is often the same entity that should, at least to some degree, be providing the populace with accurate, albeit basic, education on topics of discussion in public discourse.

The “media are the problem” stance is a difficult one to overcome in minority communities that feel routinely subjected to misrepresentations. A level of distrust is perhaps even more dangerously superseded by a level of disinterest. Communities begin to shy away from coverage, look at reporters with degrees of skepticism and a feel hesitant to speak freely when the spotlight is, often involuntarily, thrust upon them due to some event caused by someone with a similar sounding name. This discomfort is not invisible to the camera and the community essentially finds itself in another strange position. That hesitance to be portrayed as something they are not, is what causes them to more easily be seen as what they are not.

This, along with the lack of education of reporters on the basic tenets of world religion, and particularly the understanding the history of religion not just as milestones noted in religious scripture but in the political and geographic contexts that shape all histories, makes for extremely poor reporting on minority religious communities in the United States.

With a basic understanding of the challenges that face my own community, the Muslim community, I decided to purchase a small 20 year-old local Muslim newspaper that had long operated more as an aggregator of content than a producer of true local service journalism.

In an effort to better prepare young journalists for dealing with minority communities, particularly religious minorities, I have begun to use the newspaper as a sort of lab. Young journalists of all backgrounds can learn how to interact with a minority religious community and navigate the nuances of understanding the variety of cultures of which they are composed. Likewise, reporters’ interaction with the Muslim community allows them to feel a little less apprehension because of their sense of ownership over their local media. The facilitating of this relationship may slowly, and on a very small scale, make an impact on the preparedness for young reporters to report on minority and religious communities and to give minority and religious communities a greater confidence in their ability to interact with media and journalists.

It is my hope that through this, both journalist and reader will develop a more intelligent, ethical and understanding relationship with one another and subsequently contribute to the production of better, more accurate and more purposeful journalism that is knowledge-based and culturally competent.

Wafa Unus is the publisher of The Arizona Muslim Voice and a doctoral student at Arizona State University.

This year, 11 of 21 submissions were accepted to the Religion and Media Interest Group. For the upcoming AEJMC conference in San Francisco, we have lined up six strong panels, including three joint and three refereed research panels, and one Scholar to Scholar paper. Our membership meeting is scheduled on August 7 (Friday) at 1:30-3:00 pm. I hope to see you all in San Francisco. Here is our program information.

Please click on each of the images below to see the details of each session.

8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit to Googleplex
$40 Fee (Participation limited to 29)
Want to get a look inside of Google? Join the Media Management & Economics Division for a site visit to Google’s global headquarters. Learn about the latest developments in YouTube, Google Search and Google Play, and how they are changing the media industry globally, nationally and locally. Lunch provided, courtesy of Google. Shuttle bus will transport to and from the hotel (fee covers shuttle costs to and from Mountain View, CA). This off-site visit is open to MMEC members only until May 1, then will be open to all AEJMC members for remaining spots. To sign-up for this exciting trip go to: https://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/visit-to-googleplex-mmec/. For questions, contact Louisa Ha at louisah@bgsu.edu. (MMEC)

8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.(w1) Digital Bootcamp: The Advertising Division Pre-Conference Workshop$50 Fee (Participation limited to 40)
The Advertising Teaching Workshop is taking advantage of the multitude of tech savvy agencies and Silicon Valley companies in the San Francisco area. They’ll be our guides as they bring us into the brave new techie world of digital content, media and analytics. These are where the jobs for our students are. These are the domains that our students should understand. The workshop will end with the sharing of ideas (for example, apps or games) that workshop participants are using in their classrooms. Come learn with us. For information, contact Sheri Broyles at Sheri.Broyles@unt.edu or 940-565-4736. (ADVD)

8 a.m. to Noon(w2) Saving Community Journalism: What Journalism Professors Need to Know About the Business of Local News in the Digital Age$30 Fee (Participation limited to 40)
Many professors and journalism schools have either established news organizations or partnered with existing broadcast, print and digital outlets in their community to report on local issues or devise new ways to communicate with readers. Many of these start-up organizations are struggling to achieve scale and long-term sustainability, and many traditional outlets, such as newspapers, are struggling to make the transition to digital delivery and profits. This workshop is designed to give journalism instructors some basic economic knowledge and understanding of the business dynamics of local news organizations that they can incorporate into introductory and advanced courses. It also provides instructional digital tools and practical examples that will enable their students to go into the field and assist local for-profit and nonprofit news organizations in both creating and implementing new journalistic and business strategies. It is led by UNC’s Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics, Penny Muse Abernathy (author of Saving Community Journalism: The Path to Profitability and of the instructional website, savingcommunityjournalism.com), and the Knight Chair in Digital Advertising and Marketing, JoAnn Sciarrino. Both have extensive professional experience, operating at the highest executive levels in international media companies, and have focused their research on developing new business models for community news organizations. For information, contact Penny Muse Abernathy at pennyma@email.unc.edu or 919-843-4910. (COMJ, Knight Foundation)

8 a.m. to NoonGoogle and Data Journalism: A Match Made in Data Viz Heaven(Pre-registration is required — Participation is limited to 30)
Join Google for a high-level overview for research stories, discovering new trends in search, finding useful data sets to support stories and understand how search works. Learn how to build custom maps with your data as well as using these tools for storytelling. The training session will feature a step-by-step guild on how to build a custom, interactive map with Maps Engine Lite/Pro and Fusion Tables. This session will also feature a deep dive on Google Earth for television and covers the best way to build a quick and easy Google Earth tour for air, movie rendering tips and Google Permissions guidelines. Participants highly encouraged to bring laptops to gain the most out of this experience. To sign-up for the workshop go to: https://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/google-and-data-journalism/. For additional information regarding this working contact Jaime Loke at jaimeloke@gmail.com (CSWN, MCSD)

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.(w3) The Media Entrepreneurship Mindset: Hacking the Ecosystem$60 Fee (Participation limited to 100, includes breakfast and lunch)
Join us for a conversation and hackathon about building the media entrepreneurship mindset for students both inside and outside the classroom. In form and function, participants will experience the “startup culture” by working in teams to imagine new ways and places to build the entrepreneurial mindset. We’ll share models of what others are doing inside and outside the academy and then teams will develop and pitch their ideas. Participants will walk away with concrete ideas and materials for building the media entrepreneurship ecosystem at their institutions. For more information, contact Michelle Ferrier at ferrierm@ohio.edu or 740-593-9860. (PJIG, MMEC)

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.More Than A Good Story: Methods for Teaching Digital Storytelling — (Part One)
A good story grabs attention. A good multimedia story does more than that. It uses a cohesive mix of multiple media to bring audiences into the setting, journey with the story characters, and feel a range of emotions. Can students learn how to produce these compelling stories in a semester’s timeframe? This session will examine methods for effectively instructing hands-on courses on digital storytelling. How do we prepare students to be digital story-tellers? How do we blend foundational principles of good storytelling with instruction on using new technologies to capture and tell them? What is the process for moving students from idea to digital story. For additional information contact Dawn Francis, Cabrini College at dawn.francis@gmail.com or 610-902-8379. To sign-up for the workshop go to: https://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/2015-small-programs-interest-group-workshop/ (SPIG)

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.Tips for Putting Your Courses – and Programs – Online — (Part Two)
This panel will explore the changing newsroom. Many schools are resorting to the cloud for software. Some universities are asking students to supply their own equipment or use loaners from a central source. What are the best practices in this arena? For additional information contact Wally Metts, Spring Arbor University at wally.metts@arbor.edu or 517-750-6491. To sign-up for the workshop go to: https://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/2015-small-programs-interest-group-workshop/ (SPIG)Part Two will immediately follow part one in the same room.

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.(w4) Computer-Aided Content Analysis
$55 Fee / $30 Graduate Students (Participation limited to 75)
In the world of Big Data, researchers have access to a plethora of data, which often can be difficult to manage. Even outside of explicitly “Big Data” contexts, communication researchers often can find themselves buried in piles of textual data. Recent developments in textual analysis, or computer-aided content analysis, can help researchers manage this textual data and provide valuable research insights. The purpose of this pre-conference is to introduce attendees to various ways that large amounts of textual data can be analyzed using new computational methods. For information, contact Myiah Hutchens at myiah.hutchens@gmail.com or 614-917-7895. (CTAM, PCIG)
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.(w5) Beyond Storytelling: How to Turn Oral History into Scholarship and Public Knowledge
$10 Fee (Participation limited to 40)
In recent decades oral history has been increasingly recognized as vital to understanding the plurality yet connectedness of human experiences. Journalists, as witnesses, chroniclers, and sometimes agents of history, have been important subjects in numerous oral history collections. Oral history, however, is often misperceived as random collections of personal accounts of the past. This preconference workshop will thus focus on turning oral history into publishable scholarship, transforming oral history into public knowledge through digital archiving, and using oral history to explore neglected or suppressed media and cultural phenomena. The panelists will showcase their oral history projects and discuss a wide range of topics related to oral history research. For information, contact Yong Volz at volzy@misssouri.edu or 573-882-2159. (HIST, NOND)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“Hackathons, Coming to a University Near You!: How to Bring Journalists, Activists and Programmers Together to Increase Public Understanding”This panel, designed as an interactive workshop, brings together the Institute for Justice and Journalism (located in Oakland, CA) and journalism professors to explain how to organize, and why journalism and mass communication schools should want to hold a hackathon on their campuses. Some hackathons have been criticized for not being ethnically or intellectually diverse. The Institute for Justice and Journalism’s highly successful Migrahacks are an exception, as they assist journalists, activists and computer programmers from a variety of diverse backgrounds to work together to shed light on the issue of migration around the world. The hackathons include training in the latest digital tools for journalism, and results in the creation of web-based and data driven content. The proposed teaching workshop will focus on the IJJ Migrahack model, and allow participants and the audience to look for ways to expand the model in an effort to create and organize other issue-oriented hackathons on college campuses around the country. The panel also will include discussion about the historical relationship between and activists and journalists. For additional information contact Celeste Gonzalez de Bustamante, University of Arizona at 520-271-7402 or celeste@email.arizona.edu. (MACD, CTEC, INTC)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.(w6) Social Media Measurement: Essentials for the Classroom and the Profession
$10 Fee (Participation limited to 50)
In this combined presentation from educators and professionals, attendees will learn the basics of social media measurement, including the creation of dashboards, the use of Google Analytics, and the application of big data to social media campaigns. Assignments will be shared that involve social media listening and the use of Facebook Insights. During the second segment of the pre-conference, attendees can attend roundtable demonstrations to learn how to use various tools for monitoring online interaction. Finally, a panel of leading professionals will reflect upon the teaching tips shared by the instructor panel, address what students need to know about social media measurement for entry-level jobs, and discuss the future of social media measurement. For information, contact Tiffany Gallicano at derville@uoregon.edu or 541-346-2035. (PRDV, MCSD)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Honoring the Career of Joe Saltzman: Journalist, Teacher, Mentor, and PioneerThis panel will explore the career of Joe Saltzman, the director of the Image of the Journalist in Popular Culture and professor of journalism at the Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. Fellow colleagues and friends will reflect on his influence as a scholar, teacher, and mentor. Joe will share his own thoughts on his rewarding profession and discuss the next steps in his storied career. For additional information contact Brad Yates, University of West Georgia at byates@westga.edu or 678-839-4938. (ESIG)
1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
More Than A Good Story: Methods for Teaching Digital Storytelling — (Part One)A good story grabs attention. A good multimedia story does more than that. It uses a cohesive mix of multiple media to bring audiences into the setting, journey with the story characters, and feel a range of emotions. Can students learn how to produce these compelling stories in a semester’s timeframe? This session will examine methods for effectively instructing hands-on courses on digital storytelling. How do we prepare students to be digital story-tellers? How do we blend foundational principles of good storytelling with instruction on using new technologies to capture and tell them? What is the process for moving students from idea to digital story. For additional information contact Dawn Francis, Cabrini College at dawn.francis@gmail.com or 610-902-8379.Tips for Putting Your Courses – and Programs – Online — (Part Two)This panel will explore the changing newsroom. Many schools are resorting to the cloud for software. Some universities are asking students to supply their own equipment or use loaners from a central source. What are the best practices in this arena? For additional information contact Wally Metts, Spring Arbor University at wally.metts@arbor.edu or 517-750-6491. (SPIG)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(w7) Adjunct/Instructor Workshop: Nuts and Bolts
$25 FeeThis workshop will provide ideas and advice for your work in the classroom. Topics will include turning real-life experiences into exercises, running a classroom and writing a syllabus, dos and don’ts of classroom operations, time management and work-life balance, and grading and rubrics. Contact is Chris Roush, North Carolina at croush@email.unc.edu. (AEJMC Elected Standing Committee on Teaching)

1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.Empowering Junior Faculty: Pathways to Success in the Academy
Looking for some advice and mentorship on being a leader and moving up in the academic world? This third annual workshop will help junior faculty move forward in their careers through mentoring, networking and preparing for tenure and/or promotion or other leadership roles in academia. Speakers include senior scholars, including AEJMC President Elizabeth Toth, Maryland, and other administrators and women who have achieved significant leadership positions. Keynote speaker is Marie Hardin, dean of the College of Communications at Penn State University. Also included are roundtables and panels on leadership, tenure and promotion, time management and other topics featuring women who have succeeded in the academy. We are seeking a cohort of 25 tenure-track women for this pre-convention workshop on August 5. Those participating will be invited to take part in activities of both the Kopenhaver Center and the CSW during the following year and will become fellows of the program. Applications are due by June 1 to Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, Florida International, at kopenhav@fiu.edu. (CoAF, Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, FIU)

5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.(w8) Internships and Careers “Bootcamp” Workshop$5 Fee (Participation is limited to 20)
The ICIG Workshop will provide a variety of tips and “Best Practices” information for internship advisors currently developing or evaluating their internships programs. The session shall also feature a discussion of survey results charting the value of internships for students. There shall also be a session on how to go about creating a career and internships training program for students. For additional information contact Abhinav Aima, Pennsylvania State University at aka11@psu.edu. (ICIG)

5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
(w9) Welcome to Administration: Workshop for New Deans, Directors and Chairs
$45 Fee (Participation limited to 30)
This workshop is designed for people new to administration. Speakers will talk about the expectations of your new job, how to find time for fundraising, and building a cohesive faculty. The session will also provide time to network with other new administrators. Contact is Jan Slater, Illinois at slaterj@illinois.edu. (ASJMC)

5:30 to 10:00 p.m.
(w10) Insights into Academic Administration: A Collaborative on the Qualities of Stellar Academic Leaders
$35 Fee (Participation limited to 30)
As the fields within mass communication adapt to changes in society, government and technology, those of us charged with educating the next generations of content producers, curators, managers and consumers must determine the best methods to do so. In this era of media evolution, we see a growing and persistent need for leaders to fill the openings for deans and directions at schools nationwide. This session will provide attendees the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as sitting deans from Elon, Penn State, Northwestern, University of North Texas and LSU. Topics will include: (a) Transitioning into Leadership (or Going to the Dark side) – How relationships change when transitioning into leadership, and how to leverage faculty skills into leadership skills; (b) The Daily Life of Leadership- How your work changes in regards to autonomy, flexibility, internal and external obligations; (c) The Nuts and Bolts of Leadership- Things you need to know how to do such as fundraising, strategic planning, personnel issues; (d) Ways of Being- Orientations that aid administrative work (Introspective, intuitive, openness to feedback, approachability, non-reactionary, encouraging); (e) Understanding Your Leadership Style – Discussions on who you are (your multiple and fluid identities and their intersections, family or marital status, background, professional experiences, handling intercultural conflicts) and how it affects your leadership style. This session is for faculty colleagues who are interested in exploring faculty or administrative leadership. Please sign up early. You can sign up when you register for the San Francisco conference. (Scripps Howard Foundation, Louisiana State University and Elon University)

Doing my best to impersonate one of those insufferable “foodies,” I was scanning restaurant lists from San Francisco the other day. Yes, AEJMC 2015 is just around the corner.

The difference between a cosmopolitan city such as San Francisco, and the smaller cities and towns where many of us live is quite stark. In considering this contrast as it applies to restaurants, I drew two conclusions, valid or not. One was that big city eating establishments can narrow their individual culinary offerings more than those in smaller communities can. For example, the Golden Gate city has a place like “Castagna” that focuses narrowly on cuisine (yes, that’s probably what they call it) from the beautiful Provence area of southern France. Smaller cities are lucky to have a general French restaurant. My second conclusion is related to this. Those unenviable “French” establishments in more remote burgs often have to hedge their bets. They may need to add something recognizable to the menu, or even to their advertising, to get customers in the door. Indeed, I’ve sometimes wondered if a person could make a good living travelling from town to town in middle America selling sign addenda that read, “…and American food.”

I think this is an apt metaphor for all of us in RMIG who teach at different kinds of institutions. Some of us have the luxury of working at universities with significant offerings in mass media, and the specificity of our classes allows us to have one or more option in “Religion and Media.” Newer members of the group who teach at schools without such narrow catalog offerings might not be aware that RMIG once collected syllabi from some of these schools. The list is still online and can be seen here. http://www.religionandmedia.org/syllabi/

Admittedly, some schools that offer narrow classes in media and religion are not analogous to large metropolises. They simply have made a commitment to the sub-discipline for one reason or another.

The point of this essay, meandering as it might be, is that those of us teaching at colleges without such specific, narrow courses still have plenty of opportunities to integrate religion into our curriculum. And, I think we can do it in ways that nobody would think inappropriate. In other words, the customer is not going to say, “Hey, don’t throw herbes de Provence in my mac and cheese!” In the end, I want to suggest that there might be some advantage in sharing information about “Religion and Media” in a class that is not so labeled. I’d like to argue that the recent controversies in France, aptly enough, and the U.S. related to artistic representations of Muhammad provide a good example of this. There are many curricular areas much broader than “Religion and Media” where discussion of this topic is wholly á propros, maybe even de rigueur.

One place where I hope all of us would realize that discussion of the above-mentioned controversy is appropriate is in media law and/or ethics. Certainly this is one of the most common classes in media programs around the country. And, discussion of the Muhammad cartoon imbroglio fits the parameters of it without question. For example, most texts used for a media law class delve into questions of “hate speech.” To what extent is causing great offense to a group by purposely and publicly acting in a way that we know greatly offends their religion align with any formal definition of this term? Or, looking at the recent events in Garland, Texas, one might have a class discussion related to government response to such speech. Most media law classes study the case of Schenck v. United States in which Oliver Wendell Holmes famously declared that the government has the right to regulate speech that poses a “clear and present danger.” Does the process of openly declaring one’s intent to publicly offend a religious group fit this description? Who is responsible for ensuring that free speech doesn’t evolve, or devolve, into something approaching a “danger”?

Certainly there are issues that can spread beyond the confines of the class just described, though. This is worth noting, as many of our students are more interested in questions of how to attract audiences than they are with questions about whether their communication is legal or ethical. Along these lines, many colleges have courses that deal with the aesthetics of media, and in these there are good connections with the topic being discussed here. At its root, the issue being discussed is the extent to which a communicator adjusts his or her message based on attitudes of the audience. That is a classic issue in aesthetics. Do true artists ignore the reactions of those who view their art?

Of course, most of our students don’t think of themselves as “artists.” With the exception of a few in our classes who have studied auteur theory and want to direct “cinema,” most whom we teach want to be journalists, or broadcasters, directors in mainstream Hollywood film. Even so, these students will someday have audiences, and should recognize that the issue of offense with audiences should concern media professionals of any stripe. In the context of the current topic, showing them Saturday Night Live’s riff on the “Draw Muhammad” controversy could stir some useful conversation. Presumably the show’s writers and producers spent ample time during the week determining how to generate laughs in the midst of a cultural phenomenon that resulted in the spilling of real blood during the previous six months.

Beyond law and aesthetics, many of us teach courses in media that are more sociological than professional. Certainly in these contexts, discussion of religion is completely reasonable. And, questions related to the recent cartoon controversy are no exception. How do particular messages, especially messages related to religion, come to be represented in the media? How is it that some aspects of religion seem to be rarely portrayed except when they are associated with violence? How do these kinds of messages affect societal values? To what extent do media reflect the power dynamics of the society in which they are imbedded?

Let it not be said, then, that professors at remote outposts without a “Religion and Media” course do not have significant opportunities to help their students investigate the religious dimensions of mass communication. No matter what the general catalog descriptions of their classes, these instructors can certainly find ways of requiring students to think critically about religion, something that has always been an important part of human experience.

Of course, some students might not want to spend much time thinking about matters of faith and spirituality. Here, a professor could potentially find advantage in teaching a course with broader boundaries. For one thing, students inclined to avoid a class titled “Media and Religion” might very well be found sitting in one titled “Media and Audiences. And, to return to a metaphor with which I began this essay, I would suggest that students enrolled in a course with a broader label may actually have fewer preconceptions about what should and should not be discussed therein. Of course, if we’re dubious whether our pupils will be attracted to any of these offerings, we can do what many restaurants in middle-America do. However, our curriculum committees may be surprised when we request permission to add “…and American food” to the titles of all our catalog classes.

The Religion Newswriters Association annual conference is always fun to attend if you’re tracking religion trends in the media. This year’s RNA convention will be August 27-30 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel in downtown Philly. The major theme of the conference will be prepping for Pope Francis’ first U.S. visit so most of the sessions on the first and third days of the conference will be taken up with that. There’s a host of Catholic speakers, including Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. There will also be sessions on what Muslims are thinking, religion and violence and churches in the city. The RNA.org web site has all the details and academics are welcome to attend.

Buzzfeed is offering a four-month fellowship for emerging writers to focus on cultural issues, which includes religion. October 1, 2015 is the deadline to apply for the fellowship, which will take place in New York City and come with a stipend of $12,000. All those interested in gaining experience focusing on religion, outside of traditional media should consider applying. For more information, please click here.

Eastern University, a university of the liberal arts and sciences located in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, invites applications for a Visiting Professor in Media Studies, Department of Communication Studies, College of Arts and Sciences. The successful candidate will have a Ph.D. (ABD considered) in Communication Studies with a specialization in media studies, a commitment to excellence in teaching, mentoring students, and scholarship. A balance of experience in the media industry (especially digital media production/social media) and commitment to theory-based research is a plus. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. To be considered, applicants must upload their application materials at http://jobs.eastern.edu/position_page?pid=58. Please provide a cover letter to include a brief statement of their faith, curriculum vitae, unofficial copies of graduate transcripts, and three professional letters of recommendation.

“Only 10 percent of American teenagers can name all five major world religions and 15 percent cannot name any.” These were some of the findings from research into religious literacy by Stephen Prothero, Chairman, Department of Religion at Boston University, that inspired the title and the spirit of BEA 2015 panel, Joan of Arc was NOT Noah’s Wife: The Need for Religious Literacy Among U.S. Reporters.

Because the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life reports that roughly 5.8 billion adults and children around the world consider themselves religious, the question was raised: Should a basic understanding of world faith traditions be in every reporter’s toolbox? If worship is a shaping force that impacts almost any public, are journalists of the present or the future prepared to understand their role as sense-makers of events where faith is in play? For example, without knowledge-based reporting on Islam, could an ill-informed reporter inadvertently perpetuate suspicion of an already at-risk community in the U.S.? A diverse BEA panel discussed the issue of religious literacy and whether journalism schools should be more proactive in addressing what many perceive to be a hole in the modern curriculum that invites bad reporting.

In his experience participating in interfaith conversations, however, Rick Moore, Associate Professor, Department Chair, College of Social Sciences and Public Affairs, Boise State University, challenged the claim that a more religiously literate media would be productive. “In most of my studies, the American media—and to a certain extent the heart of the American population—likes a ‘secular spirituality’ where dogma is anathema. To those individuals, hearing what they need to know about various religions is to no avail because they think all religions should be the same—whether they are or not—because all (religions) should really teach is tolerance and peace.”If news consumers want to maintain a limited view of religion, is the news media under any obligation to educate its readers, viewers or listeners?

As a traveler in interfaith circles, Mariam F. Alkazemi, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, believes that the American media needs to be more than just the watchdog of the public, it should be its teacher. “As a woman wearing a veil, I get a lot of people who are surprised that I am educated and articulate. But the fact is, according the Gallop Poll, Muslim American women are the second most educated demographic in this country.

“The media has the power to polarize religious communities. I have met people who have never met someone who is from a different religious sect. If you’ve never met somebody from another sect, what you understand their religious beliefs and behaviors to be, comes from the media, generally.”

Jeffery A. Smith, Professor, Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee took a more historical view: “Many of the most prestigious colleges and universities in this country started off as, basically, religious institutions to educate clergy and so forth. So, it’s not that peculiar of a notion that we should have people paying attention to religion in higher education. In my current book project, one of the chapters deals with how religion had a lot to do with the formation of journalism programs in this country.”

If journalism schools should ever reconsider requiring a “world religions primer,”perhaps Smith’s new book would be a good place to start. Either way, a majority of the panel and many attendees vocalized an interest in studying the implications of religious illiteracy further.

Rev. Ian Punnett (@deaconpunnett) is a PhD student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication/ASU in Phoenix, a seminary-trained deacon in The Episcopal Church, a former nationally syndicated broadcaster and author of “How to Pray When You’re Pissed at God.”

As many of you know, the annual convention for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication will take place in San Francisco this summer. Many media professionals and educators will visit the city, which is home to many world-renowned tourist attractions. Other attractions may be less popular.

San Francisco is home to many sights that may be of interest to those in the Religion and Media Interest Group. For example, an article put out by Religious Travel Group explains that it is home to Mission Dolores, Grace Cathedral, Contemporary Jewish Museum, and the Hua Zang Si Temple among many others sites for worship. Mission Dolores is located at 3321 16th Street. Grace Cathedral is located at 1100 California Street. The Contemporary Jewish Museum is located at 736 Mission Street. Hua Zang Si Temple is located at 3126 22nd Street.

Similarly, The New York Times described the city’s Buddhist heritage. The article recommends several tourist destinations, including the Chinese Historical Society of America (965 Clay Street) and the Zen Center (300 Page Street).

For those less interested in sight-seeing, our interest group has several sessions to attend. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco!

RELIGION MATTERS: Spring 2015

Welcome to the Spring 2015 Newsletter! To read the articles below, simply click on the link and it will take you to the individual post. Remember the deadline to submit to AEJMC is 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) on Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

Also, we’re increasing our social media presence. Have you “liked” us on Facebook? Click here to access our page. Thanks for reading!

The opportunities and challenges of the religion and media job search

By Greg PerreaultPh.D. Candidate at theMissouri School of Journalism

“Finding the right job will be like falling in love, it’ll just work.” Those were the words of advice given to my by my research advisor on the job scene and as it turns out that’s exactly how it went. I did have concerns while I was on the market about how my research interest would be perceived. Prior to the job market, I’d never perceived any sort of avarice against my subfield although I did experience some while on the job market. In the space that follows, I want to share some of the challenges I found regarding being a media and religion scholar on the job market, with the understanding that every job is different as is every scholar. My experiences won’t be your experiences, but you may, hopefully sense some common threads that could prove fruitful.

–Challenge of Significance– “Isn’t religion dying? Why is what you’re studying important then?” The question seems obvious enough when you really think about recent surveys by the Pew Research Center and others. In my experience, interviewees were all generous enough to never ask the question explicitly. In some cases though, the question was there. What I made sure to indicate in every interview is that religion is actually quite a vibrant field of study, once you take into the multitude of expressions–expressions that extend far beyond organized religion.

–Challenge of Empiricism– I’ve always been quite impressed with the level of scholarship conducted in media and religion studies, but in some cases, another question hiding in the background was the question about whether I was interested in “beating the drum” of a particular religious tradition. In one case, I applied for a critical/cultural job and the search chair quickly emailed me back to ask if I’d seen the job ad. She noted that the position was critical and empirical and indicated that the type of research I did was not. At first, I was a bit confused in that all of my published research builds on classic critical scholarship including orientalism, hegemony, and critical race theory. Then I was, frankly, offended by the possibility that she was implying that the type of research I did was uncritical. But it was a useful learning experience. It is worth noting that this was the exception in my search, not the norm.

–Challenge of Fit– In my case, a good portion of research and teaching deals with emerging media and digital technology. In the contemporary communication department and/or communication school, this has a clear fit typically with the course catalog of the department. Religion can be a bit tougher in that there is a less often a “reporting religion” or “religion in the media” class, as opposed to a “digital journalism” class. So I found it important to know enough about the school to know–do they have a religion department? Do they have classes where my research would fit? Are there ways to frame religion research in ways that would make sense for the classes that need to be filled e.g. as a type of “cross cultural” research or a type of “niche media.”

Overall, the greatest asset I gained on the job market (aside from the job) was the confidence to argue for the significance of religion and media research.

Where does religion and media fit in the job market?

By Mariam Alkazemi, Ph.D.University of Florida

As a veiled woman, I feel that I should not shy away from research involving Islam and the media. While many scholars and activists encourage research dealing with Islam, there is an inherent problem with research involving the media and Islam: it covers a very wide scope of issues. Since the religion appears in politicized terms in the news media and can be examined in many contexts in scholarship, stating that one is studying Islam and the media is more vague and ambiguous than helpful. While there is a real need to understand the mediation of Islamic theology, media effects with regards to Muslim issues and media literacy of Muslims, the label of Islam and media can be interpreted as international communication, political communication or other forms of communication. In other words, this research interest can be difficult to define on the job market.

Some of these topics require knowledge outside of the field of communication. Scholars hoping to gain such knowledge may find themselves gaining skills with which journalists are not typically familiar. Knowledge of the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, or Urdu languages among others, travel experiences and knowledge of other cultures are useful tools that are not accumulated overnight. While these skills may seem less important than a decade of professional experience, they can easily be overlooked in the job market.

It is my hope that the job market will improve and scholars will improve the current understanding of world events and how religion shapes them. My vision for mass communication scholarship is one that involves improving the education of Muslim and non-Muslim journalists such that people all over the world can learn about one another from the mass media in a safe and nonthreatening way. As I face challenges in defining my research interests to potential employers, I adhere to the support of my mentor who explains, “the only people who fail in our field are those who give up.”

This morning I looked at the desktop of my laptop computer and sighed. It is that time in the semester when for every item I check off my to-do list, I add two or three more. Although the course I am teaching has hit a healthy swing and I am making (slow) progress on my dissertation, I realize: the AEJMC deadline is less than a month away. The time has come to take a critical look at my list of papers-in-progress and decide which ones I will subject to the AEJ gauntlet.

If you are like me — and I assume many of you are; we are overloaded academics after all — you have uploaded at least one conference paper at the final hour. After spending those final hours crossing every “t,” dotting every “i,” and basking in the earth-shattering, paradigm-shifting revelations sprinkled throughout your findings, you are ready to click “submit.” That’s when you see that all-so-important line in the submission requirements: “Authors must remove personal information from documents before uploading papers to ensure blind review.”

Wait. But how do I do that?

Fortunately, wiping your identify from your PDF-ed conference paper is far simpler than the multivariate multiple linear regression you conducted for your submission. It requires only a few simple steps. And although I usually resist efforts to label people based on categorical differences, I will provide these instructions for both Mac and Windows users.

The easiest way to ensure you submit a clean document is to first remove identifying information from your Microsoft Word file.

If you use Windows:

1. Open your file in Microsoft Word.

2. Click on the “File” tab in the upper left.

3. Click on “Properties.”

4. Click on “Advanced Properties.”

5. If any identifying information appears, delete it.

If you use a Mac:

1. Open your file in Microsoft Word.

2. In the menu bar, click on “Word” and then “Preferences.”

3. Click on “Security.”

4. Click to enable “Remove personal information from this file on save.”

5. Save your document.Source: www.aejmc.org

If you want to ensure that your PDF is also clear of any identifying information:

1. Open the PDF.

2. Click on “File” and then “Properties.”

3. Is the “Author” field blank? Then you’re good to go!

If not, follow these steps:

1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Click on “Tools,” “Protection” and “Remove Hidden Information.”
3. Check to ensure that the check boxes are enabled only for the items that you want to remove from the document.
4. Click “Remove” to delete selected items from the file. Click “OK.”
5. Go to “File” and “Save.” Choose a file name and save your PDF.Source: help.adobe.com

That’s it! If you need more specific tips for your version of Microsoft Word, AEJMC offers a handy guide here: http://www.aejmc.org/home/scholarship/submit-clean-paper/.

The Islamic Scholarship Fund (ISF) is currently accepting applications for 2015. Scholarship awards range from $2000-$5000, and the minimum requirements to apply for a scholarship include: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, enrollment at an accredited university in the U.S. by August 2015, status as an undergraduate (sophomore/junior/senior) or of graduate student (including Ph.D.), a minimum grade point average of 3.0, and the applicant must be majoring in an ISF supported major (as posted on the website), and be Muslim or an active member of the Muslim community. The deadline to apply is: April 14, 2015. Please use the link below to apply or to request further information: http://islamicscholarshipfund.org

Related conferences:

The deadline for admission to the Religious Communication Association (RCA) conference is March 25, 2015. The conference meets at the same time and place as the National Communication Association (NCA), which will take place on Nov. 19-22 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, please see their call: http://www.relcomm.org/rca-conferences-and-calls.html

The deadline for the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) conference is March 31, 2015. The conference will take place on Oct. 23-25 in Newport Beach, California. For more information, please see their call: http://www.sssrweb.org/news.cfm?newsid=226

The World Parliament of Religions is meeting in Salt Lake City Oct. 15-19, 2015, and has recently extended the call for panels and papers at this large gathering. If members of the AEJMC Religion and Media Interest Group are interested in organizing an event, please contact Joel Campbell (Brigham Young University). For more information, please see their call: http://www.parliamentofreligions.org

RELIGION MATTERS: Winter 2014-2015

Welcome to the Winter 2014-2015 Newsletter! To read the articles below, simply click on the link and it will take you to the individual post. If you’re interested in reviewing for the Religion and Media Interest Group for the upcoming conference, please contact Joel Campbell at foiguy@gmail.com.

Also, we’re increasing our social media presence. Have you “liked” us on Facebook? Click here to access our page. Thanks for reading!

Having watched Lionel Messi and Thomas Müller in this summer’s World Cup soccer matches, I walked onto the pitch for my fall rec league thinking that my game would be greatly improved. But, alas, it really hadn’t. My dribbling was not visibly better. I hadn’t become a better tackler. I couldn’t even bite my opponents in the professional fashion of famed Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez.

What I learned from this letdown was that watching an accomplished person do something does not necessarily equal learning to do it at that capacity yourself.

As noted, my role as a footballer is limited to rec league. I don’t get paid to play. Yet, when I look at my own profession, I see symptoms of the thought pattern I just described. Many college professors, yours truly included, think that students can learn something by simply watching teachers do it.

Perhaps the worst manifestation of this is our teaching of “critical thinking.” Assuming that we are all masters in this realm, we exhibit our skills “on the field” in an activity called the lecture. And, in doing so, we expect our students to mimic our moves and become great critical thinkers through such mimicry.

Some might object to the way I’ve described this, and claim that they engage in “discussion,” not lecture. But, the principle still largely applies. The prof is in control of the thinking. Students have only a moment to cogitate and make their own decisions. Some never orally engage the topic at all, unless forced.

Given all of this, I felt greatly enlightened when Bill Roberson, of the University at Albany (SUNY), presented a workshop at my campus not long ago. He suggested that one of the best ways to help students improve their critical thinking skills is to require them to make a difficult decision, then to have them go back and analyze their own decision-making process.

One great way of accomplishing this is to break a class into small groups, four or five students in each. At that point, the instructor can pose them a challenging multiple-choice question, requiring them to select an answer. Indeed, I’ve found that questions with a counter-intuitive answers are often best.

To make this visual, the teacher can give the teams sets of five cards, each with a different color and letter, one color for A, another for B, etc. After posing the question, and allowing the students to discuss it in their group, time is called and a spokesperson (actually, “show-person”) from each group must raise the card that they thought was correct.

The important part, however, is what follows. If the question is challenging enough, the students see a variety of responses revealed by their competing teams. And, the instructor then asks students to return to discussion and talk about whether they might want to change their answer. And, returning the students to their groups, the prof asks them to discuss why they chose their answer. In doing so, the students must consider what they were assuming, what ideas they might have excluded, and how they came to select what might not be a slam dunk response (or, an open net shot, to stick to a single metaphor).

Allow me to give a more concrete example. Recently, I had a class in which we were discussing media coverage of Islam. I created a multiple choice question related to how American commercial television drama portrayed Muslims immediately after 9/11. I followed the steps above, and after two rounds of vote casting, we had a very fruitful discussion of how groups selected their answers. Then, I asked the students read portions of an article by Evelyn Alsultany from which I had determined the “correct” answer—the correct answer being that positive portrayal actually increased. (The study is available from Project Muse here: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/american_quarterly/v065/65.1.alsultany.html.)

In reading parts of Alsultany’s article, some students became interested in an ensuing issue, namely, how the author made sense of what most people would not expect. She claims that the positive images that existed actually justify discrimination. That claim allowed further discussion to develop.

Though there certainly is no foolproof mechanism for engaging students, and most classroom activities wear thin with repeated use, I have found Roberson’s tip to be useful in a number of settings. Most importantly, I’ve found that it really does get more students actively engaging with a difficult question, and then engaging in reflection as to the basis for, and strength of their own answer. In soccer terms, each player should get more “touches” using the method described above, than in the typical lecture or class discussion. More players are in the game; fewer are watching. I perceive that to be a good thing, assuming a referee is available, in case there are any biters in the class.

The author is the Teaching Chair of AEJMC’s Religion and Media Interest Group.

The King’s College, New York City, is accepting applications for a full-time faculty position in journalism at the rank of Assistant Professor for fall 2015. This growing college seeks an excellent teacher and entrepreneurial individual with a strong Christian faith as well as the ability and desire to interact with both popular and scholarly audiences.

Teaching responsibilities include seven courses per year (a mix of lower and upper division courses) or equivalent combination of teaching and administrative duties connected to the John McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College. Candidates should be able to teach college writing, intro to journalism and mass communications courses as well as journalism electives. Experience teaching and working in any of the following is welcome: multimedia journalism, foreign journalism, broadcast journalism and new media; and law, history and ethics of media.

King’s is a non-denominational Christian college, so candidates should be able to understand journalism and media from the context of a Christian worldview. All King’s faculty are required to subscribe to the college’s statement of faith (http://www.tkc.edu/abouttkc/Statement_of_Faith.pdf). A Ph.D. (or D. Phil.) in communication or a related field is required.

The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, University of Houston, invites applications for a full-time instructor, non-tenure track, to teach courses in the journalism sequence beginning in fall 2015. The instructor will teach courses in reporting and writing with an emphasis on multimedia storytelling and digital journalism. The instructor will prepare student journalists to publish stories in the student newspaper and work closely with the Houston Chronicle and the student internship program. Significant professional journalism experience is greatly valued. Previous teaching experience is highly desired. A successful candidate must have a master’s degree in a related field.

Approximately 360 of the 1,800 majors specialize in print or broadcast journalism, another 370 specialize in media production, and 15 graduate students are pursuing a concentration in mass communications.

The Valenti School prides itself for its role in working with a diverse student population. Our student majors are 23 percent African-American, 21 percent Latino, 9 percent Asian-American and 3 percent international. The University of Houston strives to develop a deep understanding of and respect for diversity among students and colleagues. Therefore, we welcome candidates who may contribute to the diversity in the Valenti School and the University of Houston.

The University of Houston is the flagship campus of a state-assisted system that enrolls 50,000 students in a vibrant city, which has a world-class Medical Center, a robust arts community, professional sports and destination commercial shopping centers. Houston is known as a world capital for petroleum exploration, the headquarters location for multi-national corporations, and an international hub for shipping, railroad and aerospace activity. The university and the city encourage an entrepreneurial approach to new technologies – especially biotechnology – and are receptive to creative communication solutions in an urban environment. The Chronicle of Higher Education named the University of Houston as one of the best places to work in 2011, and U.S. News & World Report listed UH as the No. 2 most racially/ethnically diverse university in the nation. UH has been designated by the Carnegie Foundation as a Tier One public research university.

Review of applications will begin 12/15/14. Send letter of application, CV, three letters of recommendation, and official transcripts to:
Beth Olson, Ph.D.
Director, Valenti School of Communication
101 Communication Building
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3002
bolson@uh.edu

The University of Houston is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer. Minorities, women, veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

***

Calvin College

Faculty Opening: Film and Media
Full Time – tenure-track position

The Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at Calvin College announces a full-time, tenure-track opening in Film and Media, pending administrative approval.

We are interested more in the intellectual and creative strengths of the person and his or her commitment to the institution’s mission as a strong Christian liberal arts college than in a particular set of skills. We expect the person will have an interest in new media, and also in some combination of single-camera location, multi-cam studio, audio, screenwriting, gaming, digital media arts, post-production, and our general education media appreciation course. Flexible interims in January and May offer additional opportunities to teach more specifically in one’s area of interest.

The colleague will help provide collaborative, visionary leadership for the eighty students in our media programs, headquartered in the 50,000-square-foot DeVos Communication Center. Robust facilities, equipment, and resources support ambitious teamwork between faculty and students in documentary, narrative, and art/experimental projects — often of national or international scope.

This position begins in August 2015. The search will remain open until December 1, 2014 or until filled.

***FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics), in collaboration with The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, is now accepting applications for a fellowship that uses the conduct of journalists during the Holocaust and in Nazi Germany as a launching point for an intensive two-week summer program on contemporary journalism ethics. Fellowships include an all-expenses-paid trip from New York to Berlin, Krakow, and O?wi?cim (Auschwitz) where students work with leading faculty to explore both journalism history and the ethical issues facing working journalists today. All program costs, including international and European travel, lodging, and food, are covered.

The 2015 FASPE Journalism program will run from May 24 to June 4. To be eligible applicants must either (1) be enrolled in a graduate program or (2) be working journalists who completed their undergraduate degrees between June 2010 and June 2014.

Completed applications must be received by January 6, 2015. All FASPE programs are non-denominational and candidates of all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

To apply or to learn more about FASPE, please visit: www.FASPE.info.

If you have any questions, please contact Thorin R. Tritter, Managing Director of FASPE, at ttritter@FASPE.info.

***

Palestinian American Research Center

U.S. Faculty Development Seminar on Palestine
2015 Faculty Development Seminar
May 14-25, 2015 in Jerusalem and the West Bank

Applications due January 9, 2015
Awards announced March 3, 2015

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) announces its sixth Faculty Development Seminar on Palestine. This 12-day seminar is for U.S. faculty members with a demonstrated interest in, but little travel experience to, Palestine.

PARC will select 10 to 12 U.S. faculty members to participate in Jerusalem-based activities that will include roundtable discussions, tours of historic cities, and visits to local universities, research institutes, and cultural institutions in the West Bank.

Through these activities, participants will learn about the region, deepen their knowledge of their particular fields of interest as they relate to Palestine, and build relationships with Palestinian academic colleagues.

Applicants must:

• Be U.S. citizens.
• Be full-time faculty members at recognized U.S. colleges or universities. Applicants may come from any academic discipline, including the humanities, social sciences, economics, law, health, and sciences.
• Have a demonstrated interest in Palestine.
• Have little previous travel experience to Palestine.
• Be willing to integrate their experiences from the seminar into their own teaching and/or pursue a joint research project or publication with a Palestinian colleague.
• Be a member of PARC. Visit the PARC membership page on our website for more information.

PARC will make all arrangements for the program including tours, site visits and meetings with Palestinian academic colleagues. PARC will cover all expenses for in-country, group ground travel, accommodations, and group meals. International airfare and personal and free day expenses will be the responsibility of each faculty member. In cases of demonstrated need, PARC will consider partial funding for international travel.

PARC will provide a $1,000 travel stipend for airfare for three professors from minority serving institutions and/or professors who are minority scholars. Funding for these three participants is provided by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through an agreement with CAORC.

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) invites submission of research papers on topics that incorporate themes related to religion and media. RMIG will consider papers using quantitative, qualitative or historical research methods and accepts any recognized citation style (although APA is preferred). Please note that essays, commentaries, or simple literature reviews will not be considered. Possible areas of research focus include (but are not limited to): studies of religious group members and uses of religious or secular media; exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups; analysis of audiences for religious news; media strategies of religious organizations; religious advertising; religious and spiritual content in popular culture; etc. Papers focusing on historically underrepresented religions, denominations and/or groups as well as religious contexts outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged. For more about RMIG and its mission, please see http://www.religionandmedia.org/our-mission-and-goals/. Papers will be considered for presentation as traditional research panels and poster sessions.

The maximum length of research papers is 25-pages, excluding endnotes and tables. The Religion and Media Interest Group also sponsors a Top Paper competition for both student and faculty papers. (Note: student papers may not have a faculty co-author.) The top student and faculty papers will be awarded $100 each, with the second-place student and faculty papers receiving $50 each. Co-authors will split the monetary awards, but each will receive a plaque. The awards will not be given if the selected papers are not presented at the conference. In order to be considered for the Top Paper competition, please specify either a student submission or a faculty submission on the cover page of the paper. Student papers that are not clearly identified as student submissions will not be considered for the student Top Paper Competition. All paper submissions must follow the 2015 AEJMC Uniform Paper Call.

Please pay particular attention to the following section of that call:

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Questions should be submitted to the RMIG Research Chair Joel Campbell at joeljaycampbell@gmail.com. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line when communicating via e-mail.

RMIG will be sponsoring four joint panels for the 2015 AEJMC Conference in San Francisco:

The programming groups within the Council of Divisions of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication invite submission of original, non-published, English language only research papers to be considered for presentation at the AEJMC Conference, August 6 to 9, 2015, in San Francisco, CA. Specific requirements for each competition — including limits on paper length — are spelled out in the listing of groups and research chairs that appear below. Papers are to be submitted in English only.

All research papers must be uploaded through an online server to the group appropriate to the paper’s topic via a link on the AEJMC website: www.aejmc.org. The following uniform call will apply to ALL AEJMC paper competitions. Additional information specific to an individual group’s call is available at the end of the uniform call information.

1. Submit the paper via the AEJMC website link (www.aejmc.org) to the AEJMC group appropriate to the paper’s topic. Format should be Word, WordPerfect, or a PDF. PDF format is strongly encouraged.

2. The paper must be uploaded to the server no later than 11:59 P.M. (Central Daylight Time) Wednesday, April 1, 2015.

3. Also upload a paper abstract of no more than 75 words.

4. Completely fill out the online submission form with author(s) name, affiliation, mailing address, telephone number, and email address. The title should be printed on the first page of the text and on running heads on each page of text, as well as on the title page. Do NOT include author’s name on running heads or title page.

5. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION. NOTE: Follow instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind reviewing.

6. Papers are accepted for peer review on the understanding that they are not already under review for other conferences and that they have been submitted to only ONE AEJMC group for evaluation. Papers accepted for the AEJMC Conference should not have been presented to other conferences or published in scholarly or trade journals prior to presentation at the conference.

7. Student papers compete on an equal footing in open paper competitions unless otherwise specified by the individual division or interest group. Individual group specifications are appended to this uniform call.

8. Papers submitted with both faculty and student authors will be considered faculty papers and are not eligible for student competitions.

9. At least one author of an accepted faculty paper must attend the conference to present the paper. If student authors cannot be present, they must make arrangements for the paper to be presented.

10. If a paper is accepted, and the faculty author does not present the paper at the conference, and if a student author does not make arrangements for his/her paper to be presented by another, then that paper’s acceptance status is revoked. It may not be included on a vita.

11. Authors will be advised whether their paper has been accepted By May 20 and may access a copy of reviewers’ comments from the online server. Contact the paper chair if you are not notified or have questions about paper acceptance.

Special note: Authors who have submitted papers and have not been notified by May 20, MUST contact the division or interest group paper chair for acceptance information. The AEJMC Central Office may not have this information available.

12. Authors of accepted papers retain copyright of their papers and are free to submit them for publication after presentation at the conference.

Important Paper Submissions Information
• Upload papers for the AEJMC 2015 San Francisco, CA Conference beginning January 15, 2015. Paper submitters should follow instructions on the front page of the submission site to create your account and complete the information required.

• Deadline for paper submissions is April 1, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Any submissions after this time will not be accepted.

• Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call.

• A COVER SHEET or a sheet with the 75-word required ABSTRACT that is included with a paper upload should be EXCLUDED from the page number limits set by all AEJMC Groups.

Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. All AEJMC Divisions, Interest Groups and Commission will abide by the rules below WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

NOTE: Follow online instructions on how to submit a clean paper for blind review at aejmc.org/home/papers. Contact Felicia Greenlee Brown with comments, concerns and other Conference Paper Call inquiries at Felicia@aejmc.org.

RELIGION MATTERS: Fall 2014

Welcome to the Fall 2014 Newsletter! To read the articles below, simply click on the link and it will take you to the individual post. Please note that we’re most immediately interested in joint panel proposals for the 2015 AEJMC conventions (see below).

Also, we’re increasing our social media presence. Have you “liked” us on Facebook? Click here to access our page. Thanks for reading!

By Dr. Jim Trammell, High Point University

*Recipient of the RMIG 2014 Top Faculty Paper Award

Thank God for the iPhone. I use it to call my mother. I use it to update my Facebook status. I use it to take a picture of my cup of coffee, and then upload the picture to my WordPress blog. I can even use it to compose this newsletter column while riding on the bus on my way to work, then email it the newsletter editor ten minutes before it is due.

And if need be, I learned I can use my iPhone to fight Satan!

The “Shut Up, Devil!” app puts “The power to silence Satan . . . in your pocket!” The app gives would-be Satan silencers “[digital] cars that present Scriptures with personalized application” [sic] to read the devil makes you anxious, angry, or feel sinful in any other way. It’s “app-wide search make[s] it easy to find the Scriptures you need, when you need them.” “Shut Up, Devil” also allows users to “stay on the offensive by setting reminders to speak Scripture aloud,” like the “Reminders” function bundled with the iPhone, but with more Satan-fighting power, apparently.

The “Shut Up, Devil!” app raises some interesting questions. Could I fight the devil without the app? Am I at a disadvantage in fighting the devil if I don’t have an iPhone? Is the devil more easily defeated on the Android platform or Apple’s iOS? If the iPhone is a powerful tool for fighting the devil, do I cheapen its spiritual significance if I put the “Shut Up, Devil!” app next to my Angry Birds app? Is it okay to open the Pizza Hut app and order a large cheese stuffed crust pizza through my phone while using the “Shut Up, Devil!” app, or would that be considered sacrilege? And if that is sacrilege, is there an app I can download that would allow me to receive penance directly to my phone?

Religion and media have been inseparable partners for centuries. As media evolved, so did our engagement with religious faith. Before mass media, we passed our religious faith and traditions through oral communication, relying on perspective of the speaker’s experiences and knowledge to shape religion to the next generation. The printing press moved Scripture from exclusive confines of the Church to the congregants, giving the public agency in their religious practice and fueling the Protestant Reformation. The televangelists of the late 20th century shaped the public perception of Christianity as a faith based on prosperity and entertainment.

The “Shut Up, Devil!” app may be the newest effort to merge religion and media, but it is certainly not innovative. If anything, the “Shut Up, Devil!” was inevitable. Religious apps are only a new phenomenon in as much as the digital tablet is a new medium. If there is anything new about the “Shut Up, Devil” app, it’s in how the app embodies the next chapter in the centuries-long story of religion and media.

I addressed this merger of religious belief and tablet media at the 2014 AEJMC convention in Montréal. My presentation argued that the twenty-first century’s “electronic church” is moving from television to tablets, and argued that the content of Christian apps centers, among other things, on convenience. Just as the iPhone makes it easy for me to call Mom, take photos, and finish this column in the next ten minutes, so do many of the popular Christian apps make it easy for me to locate Scripture, post prayer requests, and, in the case of the Jesus Calling app, read a devotion that says I am special just the way I am.

Tablet media succeed by demanding as little effort from the user as possible. Christian apps also make few demands of the user, suggesting a practical strategy in fighting the devil comes not from a lifetime of prayer and supplication, but from downloading an app. If there is any real power in the “Shut Up, Devil!” app, it’s in the mistaken belief that spiritual and religious exercises are made stronger when they require little effort. The power of the “Shut Up, Devil!” app comes not from its purported ability to hold Satan at bay, but from its ability to turn religious practices into a convenience.

It’s easy to believe that the iPhone really doesn’t do anything new for religious belief. Christians have been fighting Satan for 2000 years without the iPhone, and will continue to tell him to “Shut Up” long past when tablet media are made obsolete by new technologies. But tablet media threaten to redefine what it means to engage with religious faith. Just as the printing press and broadcasting technologies affected how Christians practiced their faith, so can tablet media present a dominant approach Christianity, one that privileges ease and convenience over effort and reverence.

Jim Y. Trammell, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Communication
High Point University

It was really nice seeing many of you in Montreal, and the conference was a great success. Thank you very much for your participation.

It’s time to think about the upcoming AEJMC Conference in San Francisco, California on August 5-9, 2015. RMIG is now accepting joint panel proposals for the 2015 convention. Proposal topics can be in one of the three areas: teaching, research, and PF & R (professional freedom and responsibility, including ethics and diversity issues such as race, gender, social justice etc.). All topics and ideas are welcome. The submission deadline is September 15, 2014.

Panel proposals should contain the following information:
• Panel Title
• Panel Type: e.g. PF&R, teaching, or research panel
• Panel Sponsorship: Indicate which AEJMC divisions or interest groups might also be interested in co-sponsoring the panel. (Please note that while RMIG sole-sponsored panel proposals may be considered, the majority of AEJMC panels tend to be co-sponsored across divisions and interest groups to attract a higher attendance and to allow more RMIG participation in the program.)
• Description of Panel: Provide a paragraph description of the key issues or subject matter to be addressed.
• Possible Panelists: Include individuals who would be potential participants for this panel and indicate that whether you have confirmed that participation with them. It’s not necessary to have all potential panelists listed.
• Possible Moderator
• Contact Person: Include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number as the contact person for this panel proposal.

Please send proposals to BOTH Myna Germans (mgerman@desu.edu) and Chiung Hwang Chen (chenc@byuh.edu) by September 15 (so we can have a backup, and it’s also easier for us to coordinate). Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

The Department of Communication at the University of Washington is seeking an Assistant Professor in the area of Communication and Difference. Difference, a perceived deviation from traditionally understood norms and patterns, is central to all of our lives. Whether we move in the margins or at the center of cultures, we live difference in a variety of overlapping, multifaceted, and distinctly experiential ways. Difference is increasingly the norm because of demographic trends, global flows, and technological developments, but scholars have more work to do to understand the myriad factors affecting and reflecting difference and the ways in which it continues to be tied to inequality across cultures. The Department of Communication includes several faculty who are involved in research, teaching, and service related to communication and difference, and we seek a colleague who will complement these faculty. Candidates may focus on race, gender, class, religion, disability, economic difference, sexuality, age, and culture, or other sources of difference; we are particularly interested in work that speaks to the intersectionality of some of these. We encourage applicants from all epistemological traditions, including social scientific, critical/cultural, and rhetoric. Candidates should have interests in at least two of our departmental areas of conceptual emphasis (for these please see our website: com.washington.edu). As such, we expect that applicants will differ from one another in the communicative contexts they tend to study. Experience mentoring underrepresented students is highly valued for this position. For more information, please visit: http://www.com.washington.edu/2014/08/seeking-assistant-professor-communication-and-difference/.

The annual conference of the Religious Communication Association will be held in Chicago on Nov. 19-23. Each November, RCA holds its annual conference and day-long preconference in conjunction with the annual convention of the National Communication Association. Scholars are invited to submit competitive papers and panel proposals for consideration. Instructions and guidelines are specified in the annual RCA call for papers. The call for the 2014 RCA conference is now closed; check back in January for the 2015 call. For more information, please go to http://www.relcomm.org/rca-conferences-and-calls.html .

Journalism and Mass Communications Quarterly published an article dealing with religion in its September 2014 edition. The article analyzes acceptance of religious humor in Spanish media. Specifically, a comparison is made between the opinion of journalists and the general public in the four main regions in Spain (Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid, and Basque Country). The study used both qualitative (in-depth interviews with journalists and focus groups with the public) and quantitative (surveys given to journalists and the general public) techniques. Results show differences between journalists and the general public on whether religion deserves special treatment, and on the legitimacy of an opinion that shows a lack of respect toward religion.

Warm aloha,
It was very nice seeing many of you in Montreal. We had a great convention. I especially would like to thank all who participated in the program. Your great work contributed much to the success of RMIG panels.
It is unusual for almost the entire team from last year to continue serve in this coming year. I personally feel extremely honored for the opportunity. Welcome Rick, Mariam, and Robbie to the team. We set some goals (see the annual report below) for this year and will strive to achieve them with your help.
Attached is the list of the RMIG officers and their contact information. Let us know if you have ideas for joint panels (see below for the call) or suggestions on how we can better serve our members. We always welcome contributions to the RMIG newsletter, especially ideas or experiences on teaching, research, or PF&R (Professional Fairness and Responsibility) related issues.
Mahalo for your support and have a fruitful year!

Vice Head: Myna German (Delaware State University)

Dr. Myna German, chair of the Department of Mass Communication at Delaware State University, has recently returned from Portugal, where she presented a symposium on topics relating to her co-published book Migration, Technology and Transculturation (via Delaware State University).

Membership Chair: Daniel Stout (Brigham Young University Hawaii)

Daniel Stout is a professor of international cultural studies at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Media and Religion. He brings an impressive research publication record with him including three edited books, over two dozen book chapters and scholarly/professional articles. He is an internationally known expert on religion and the mass media. His professional experience is in advertising at the Houston Chronicle. He holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, an M.A. from the University of Georgia and a B.A. from Brigham Young University.

Teaching Chair: Rick Moore (Boise State University)

Rick C. Moore earned his doctorate from the University of Oregon and has taught at Boise State since 1994. He loves teaching a wide variety of courses in communication theory, research, and criticism. Though occasionally dabbling in other “contexts” of communication, he mainly teaches courses related to mass communication. Dr. Moore’s research interests are in the area of mass communication and ideology. Much of his writing has investigated media portrayal of religious and environmental issues. Another key area of study is the social thought of Jacques Ellul, a French theorist/theologian who asked challenging questions about the role of technology in our lives. Writing under his full name of Rick Clifton Moore, Dr. Moore has published articles in: The Journal of Communication; Mass Media & Society; The Journal of Media and Religion; The Bulletin of Science, Technology, and Society; Advertising and Society Review;The Ellul Forum; and The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies. When not in his office, in the classroom, or the library, Rick enjoys spending time with his wife Kim and his children Emily and Danny. He also has a fondness for old houses (the Moore’s version being a perpetual work-in-progress) and occasionally gets to spend time wading in Idaho’s beautiful mountain streams.

Dr. Joel Campbell, RMIG research chair, is an associate professor in journalism in Brigham Young University Department of Communications. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio State University. Previously, he worked for nearly 20 years as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Salt Lake City. He teaches media writing, journalism principles, media and religion, media ethics and research courses. His new-found research interest is media and religion, but has also been active in First Amendment and Freedom of Information research and advocacy. He has presented or published papers on media coverage of the Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, Artemus Ward’s 19th Century “Among the Mormons” show, media coverage of Mormons’ posthumous baptism of Jews, “The Mormon” newspaper in New York City from 1850-1857, and Marie Ogden’s New Age “Home of Truth” colony in southeast Utah.

Julia Duin currently serves as the ninth visiting Snedden Chair of Journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The Chair and associated Snedden Lecture series brings distinguished journalists to campus for visits as short as three days on up to Duin’s year-long faculty appointment (through spring 2015) within UAF’s College of Liberal Arts.
The program was funded through a generous $2.6 million endowment established by the late Helen Snedden. That gift, honoring the legacy of her husband, longtime News-Miner Publisher C.W. Snedden, has enlivened classrooms and community forums with perspectives of more than a dozen Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters, photographers and editors since 2005.
Duin earned her BA in English from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., then began her career in journalism covering police and municipalities for small newspapers in Oregon and South Florida. In 1986, she landed a job with the Houston Chronicle as a full-time religion writer. She received a MA in religion at a seminary in western Pennsylvania in 1992. She then worked as a city editor for the Daily Times in Farmington NM before moving to Washington DC in 1995 to be an assistant national editor with the Washington Times.
She spent more than 14 years with the Times and published several books, including Quitting Church: Why the Faithful are Fleeing and What to Do About It and Days of Fire and Glory: The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community.
Duin has won numerous awards for her work, which spans everything from a five-part series on America’s clergy to “female feticide” (gender-selective abortions) in India. Other notable assignments include reporting on Kurds in northern Iraq and the 2005 election of Pope Benedict.
In recent years she has written extensively for the Washington Post Sunday magazine and Style section, as well as the Economist, CNN.com and the Wall Street Journal. Her latest book project involves 20-something Pentecostal serpent handlers in Appalachia who use Facebook to spread their beliefs. In December, she expects to receive a second MA (in journalism) with the University of Memphis.

PF&RChair: Robbie Morganfield (University of Maryland)

Robbie R. Morganfield, a Ph.D. candidate in Public Communication at the University of Maryland, expects to defend his dissertation in fall 2014. His topic: Mainstream and Alternative Newspaper Framing of the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Campaign. Morganfield aspires to become a department chair and has interest in teaching across disciplines, especially media, communication and religion. Morganfield has a broad-based background as an award-winning journalist who served as a reporter, editor, columnist and staff development director at major metropolitan daily newspapers; a feted college classroom journalism and communication instructor and workshop presenter; and effective administrator in the para-professional and religious nonprofit sectors. His research interests include journalism history, ethics, intercultural communication, and religion and media. Morganfield holds a bachelor degree in journalism (Ole Miss), a master degree in public affairs journalism with a minor in educational policy and leadership (The Ohio State University), and a master of divinity degree (Texas Christian University). He has taught reporting, editing, ethics and mass communication survey courses, as well as intercultural communication and communication for academic success. He developed curriculum, taught modules and served as executive director of a Freedom Forum institute that trained and placed midcareer professionals from other fields in jobs at about 80 newspapers. He directed an online newsroom, developed a digital communication training curriculum and developed workshops and negotiated internships for students from historically black colleges and universities. He coached editors and publishers on diversity matters and served as a frequent workshop presenter at conferences across the nation. He also is a Methodist Church pastor.

Gregory P. Perreault is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Missouri School of Journalism. His dissertation “Sacred Space Evaders: Protestant Normativity in Digital Game Journalism” explores the latent protestant values in digital game journalism. He holds an M.A. in Communication, Culture & Technology from Georgetown University and a B.A. from Palm Beach Atlantic University in South Florida. His peer-reviewed research has appeared in the Journal of Media and Religion and the Journal of Contemporary Religion. He worked for several years in newspapers in South Florida and has had work published in USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald and The Huffington Post.

Mariam Alkazemi is a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. Although she identifies as a Muslim, she enjoys learning about various religions. Over the years, she has visited a church, a synagogue, a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple in addition to a mosque. She is fascinated by the aspects of religion that are unique to certain religious traditions and those that are universal. Her personal interest in religion has fueled her professional research interests focusing on religion and the media. Fluent in the English and Arabic languages, she hopes to produce research that may serve as a cultural bridge between the United States and the Arab and Muslim world. Her peer-reviewed publications appear in Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism and Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture. At Florida she has taught four classes: Journalism Studies, Mass Media and You, World Communication Systems, and Applied Fact-Finding. She is currently serving as the co-editor of the Religion and Media Interest Group’s newsletter.

RELIGION MATTERS: Summer 2014

Welcome to the Summer 2014 Newsletter! For AEJMC 2014, please remember you will need a passport in order to attend the conference. Early registration for the conference ends on July 7th.

To read the articles below, simply click on the link and it will take you to the individual post. Thanks for reading! It’s been a pleasure serving you and being a part of this team. Safe travels to Montreal!

This year has been a banner year for our division, headed by Dr. Chiung Chen from Brigham Young University-Hawaii. Chiung has been an incredible division head, training our officers and prompting everyone in the group toward excellence.

We have 7 sessions coming up at the conference, 14 research papers being presented in 4 groups of 3 and 2 in the scholar-to-scholar poster session. We have also participated in formation of two pre-conference panels the first Tuesday of the conference and three other panels during the conference.

Several graduate students and faculty have contacted us about getting active in the group. We will have our election of officers at the business meeting of the conference and hopefully they can come into the leadership group at the entry-levels. We also need new people to take a place and move up the leadership ladder.

Prof. Joel Campbell (Brigham Young University-Provo) has done a great job as research chair. See you in Montreal!

Like most children in my generation, I grew up playing digital games. Super Mario Bros., Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Legend of Zelda were not, in my experience, marks of absence from the social world but an indication of presence within it. Because everyone played. You learned you had to pass the controller.

The games have aged. Those early games have given way to Angry Birds and Temple Run, as well as the more serious Dante’s Inferno and Bioshock Infinite. Gaming itself has achieved a level of near ubiquity. Nearly seventy percent of Americans play digital games regularly and, to look to the future, among 14- to 17-year-old girls regular game play is 94 percent and 99 percent among boys. Want your heart skip a beat? See the chart below. USA Today, Forbes Magazine, Wired Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and The Washington Post all now have reporters who cover digital games as at least a part of their beat.

As a journalist and a young academic (as well as a father), these numbers are rather striking. Much of my early research at Georgetown University and the Missouri School of Journalism has been on press discourse regarding religion–a tradition pioneered by truly brilliant scholars like Judith Buddenbaum and Stewart Hoover. But in the middle of my career at Missouri, I began to do some research on this topic. Gaming deserves more attention in Media and Religion research not solely because of its growth as a medium but also because of the quality of the narratives. The storytelling in games has developed so that it can now take part in the larger narratives of our culture such as the connection between religion and violence and the place of religion in civil society.

Perhaps if the predominant games on the market continued to be Pac-Man, Mrs. Pac-Man, Child of Pac-Man ad infinitum, one could still argue for the examination of exploring the subtleties of religion in these games (e.g. the implicit religion of digital game play, as explored by Rachel Wagner). But as games have grown in popularity so have they also grown in the complexity of the stories they can tell.

In 2013, 30-minutes of gameplay from Beyond: Two Souls premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Similarly, a movie based on the Halo franchise was nominated for an Emmy. In Bioshock: Infinite (2013), it is impossible to explore the surroundings of the game without recognizing the overt religiousity of the culture. Set in a city in the clouds, Columbia, the game is a first-person shooter in which the player must rescue a young woman named Elizabeth. Just to enter the city, the player’s avatar must submit to a baptism. The imagery in Bioshock: Infinite brought about widespread discussion in the press and blogs. One developer at the digital game company reportedly threatened to quit over the religious depictions in the game.

Common themes in digital game narratives include killing God or Satan, evil/hypocritical establishment religious figures, god figure(s) as a motivator for violence, and saving your game progress by praying to a religious shrine. All of these raise interesting theoretical questions regarding both the production and the reception of such games.

My dissertation joins my two worlds together by exploring how digital game journalists address (or don’t) the religious narratives in digital games. Digital games will continue to be a part of my research in that as technology continues to develop and as their use continues to grow, so will the reflective power they have to mirror the religious discussions of society.

Pedagogy is a journey. We don’t get anywhere until we gas it up, merge into traffic and get it on. So this semester I stopped talking about the interplay of faith, culture and media. I set up a series of projects whereby all students in my class would have to interact with a person of another culture and another faith. I couldn’t require that this encounter be in a language other than English, but this was strongly encouraged.

Last time I tried this, I required students to visit a place of worship that was not Christian. It didn’t work — mostly because I don’t teach in a department of religion and I wasn’t preparing students well enough to understand what they were encountering in those places of worship.

This time it was about food (or nails, or hair, or dresses.) Students had to write a series of business-related stories. The angle was the cross-cultural and faith-interactive aspects of business in the Los Angeles area. There’s a whole world to choose from. Complaints of no place were muted; I don’t say silenced because there is an amazing resilience to the undergraduate ability to find creative cross-cultural experience impossible. But the conversations about impossible are shorter.

Students started the class with a self-reflective paper about their own faith journey. It was, by design, a probe into why they believe what they believe. If they believe little or nothing, they still had to write it about and tell why. The only real requirement on this paper was honesty and detail.

Story 1 was about business run by someone from another country. Students were required to do research on the trends in businesses of that kind, of that description, in the business press, in sociology journals, in journals of anthropology. The more they complied with this requirement, the better went their interviews. Religion wasn’t supposed to be part of this story unless it came up. The point was culture: how internationals navigated majority culture to do business, whether they catered mostly to those of their own culture or not, how they dealt with transition to majority culture themselves and those they hired or worked alongside in what are often multicultural collections of businesses in plazas and malls. All students had to

Story 2 was about faith, religious experience, and these business owners’ sense of the spiritual as they did business. The results were an interesting study. Some were quite open about their faith, with icons and religious artifacts spread throughout the business: Buddhas big and small, wall-hangings showing religious scenes, incense by the cash register.

But what was a surprise was the response to questions. Most of my students are white and look and act like majority culture folks. For them to ask a person of another culture about their faith, in the workplace, was for some business owners an affront or a threat. Some clammed up. The young owners, in particular, said the faith artifacts were just culture — stuff they put up to make customers happy. The extreme case was a young Muslim woman who did eyebrow threading in her home. It was helping paying the bills for her family and was going strong, even though it wasn’t advertised other than word of mouth. When the question of faith came up, the woman told the student’s Arabic interpreter that she couldn’t answer any questions about religion because she’d been told by legal counsel never to bring it up. She was an asylee.

The project was a massive wake-up call in this Christian university where students opt into an environment where their faith in Christ is nurtured regularly in optional chapel services, dorm Bible studies and student-led social action efforts driven by commitment to Christ-driven compassion for the poor, the alienated, the enslaved.

The key, students learned, was persistence in the journalistic pursuit. Cross-cultural journalism is hard because it’s personal. It can’t be done (with any success) unless one is bought in. And to buy in, students need to confront their own faith and what it means in culture around them.

Books I used for this project were Judith Buddenbaum’s “Reporting News About Religion” (note: hard to find — for me and students), Harris-Schaupp’s “Being White: Finding our Place in a MultiEthnic World,” and generous helpings of YouTube insights from cross-cultural journalists in the U.S., Britain and other parts of the developed world.

Video clips about cross-cultural encounter that kept them all breathing were from “The Terminal,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Hidalgo.”

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Session 1 of 3)“Writing It Right for Academic and Scholarly Audiences”
This session will consist of an interactive panel session that will address key topics in academic writing and publishing. Unlike most of the many previous (and ever popular) sessions AEJMC has held on this topic, this panel will focus in detail on the mechanics of writing about research for publication. The topics that will be addressed include: how research manuscripts should be organized and structured (covering both social science and humanities-based research); how a writer effectively constructs a literature review and uses previous research; strategies for argumentation and for acknowledging and addressing a study’s weaknesses and limitations; technical preparation of manuscripts for review; and communicating with editors and reviewers through the publication process. The goal of the workshop will be to help emerging scholars understand how they need to think about the many different elements that go into writing clearly and effectively about research. The panel also will seek to shed light on how editors and reviewers read manuscripts. For additional information, contact Charlene Simmons, Tennessee at Chattanooga, Charlene-Simmons@utc.edu, or at 423-521-2960. To register for this workshop go tohttps://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/2014-mmec-etch-and-rmig-workshops/ (MMEC, ETHC, RMIG)

1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Session 3 of 3)“Writing For Scholarly Journals: Tips from the Editors”
Editors of refereed academic publications in media economics, media and religion, and media ethics who work within AEJMC will present an afternoon panel explaining: 1) how best to submit articles, reviews, and especially research for possible publication; 2) the uniqueness, scope, and vision of each featured refereed publication; 3) a behind-the-scenes view of editing, reviewing, and article selection to help answer the question “what are editors of scholarly journals looking for from contributors?” 4) how editors and contributors working together may improve scholarship, research, and cooperation within the future of our fields. The panelists and discussant will also remain up to one hour following the panel to advise individuals who have ideas for possible articles and further questions. For additional information, contact Charlene Simmons, Tennessee at Chattanooga, Charlene-Simmons@utc.edu, or at 423-521-2960. To register for this workshop go to https://aejmc2.wufoo.com/forms/2014-mmec-etch-and-rmig-workshops/ (ETHC)

Our term will come to an end in August. We want to thank all RMIG members and friends for your support and help. We have learned a lot this year through our service. We have put out 4 excellent newsletters (thanks particularly to Greg for his time and effort) and come up with an exciting program for this year’s conference in Montreal. Please come join the fun and meet your RMIG colleagues. Below is a list of panels RMIG is involved in. Make sure to have your passport ready for the trip! Hope to see you all in Montreal.

-Chiung Hwang Chen, Chair

****

Tuesday August 5

9 am to Noon

Media Management and Economic and Media Ethics Divisions and Religion and Media Interest Group

By Debra L. Mason, Teaching Chair
I joined the teaching ranks 24 years ago as a teaching assistant while I was earning a PhD at Ohio University.

But it wasn’t until 2008 that I first taught religion reporting. That’s because I was teaching at a small liberal arts college trough the 1990s with too few students to create such a specialized course. After that, I went into nonprofit management for a few years before joining the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in 2006.

I learned soon enough that competing with a growing number of elective skills courses and other specialized media courses in environment, investigative journalism, arts coverage and health reporting was difficult. And there was a good reason why.

During these years, we saw the religion “beat” undergo many changes, including many layoffs. In part religion was swept up with the overall downsizing of newsrooms. In part, religion was not viewed as a vital beat in the same way as education, city government or sports were. And no one had been able to get religion to support itself via designated religion pages.

The trend was well-known enough that students were picking up on it. At the same time, it was hard to find a place for students to intern or be mentored by experienced leaders on the beat. My religion reporting classes were always very small—under 10 students every time.

Let’s be clear: every one of MU’s 2,000-plus journalism students gets some religion. That’s because I guest lecture about religion in all sections of the Cross Cultural Journalism course that’s required of every journalism student. Some instructors in the course require that students read examples of religion reporting or read a chapter from Judith Buddenbaum’s religion reporting book.

I lecture on problems of religious bias, religious literacy, secularity, stereotyping and other flaws in reporting or strategic planning when religion is involved. It was only one lecture, but it had repercussions in class assignments, readings, and projects. I always felt as though it was much better than nothing. Now, I’m pleased that a new cross cultural textbook my colleagues at the University of Missouri are writing will include a full chapter on the topic, using many of the same examples and issues I’ve lectured about the past six years.

But I’ve decided that teaching a specific course on religion reporting is not the approach that will reach the most students. Instead, I’m trying to figure out how to expand the religion content in Cross Cultural Journalism. And I’m refining an experimental course called, “From Amish to Zoarastrianism: What every journalism student needs to know about religion.” It’s sort of a world religions course for journalists. It includes data about the religiosity of journalists, why demographics of religion are peculiarly complicated, specific ethical quandaries and of course, aspects of major world religions important for journalists to understand.

I’ve come to believe that the most valuable lessons I teach in religion reporting are more about religious knowledge and less about the writing or reporting itself. These are lessons about etiquette, courtesy, muting personal biases, respect for diversity and important nuances of religious language. They’re lessons every journalism student needs to understand, because religion is always lurking as a component for many of today’s most important topics.

Another reason I think my religion reporting course itself is no longer necessary is the work of a student chapter of Religion Newswriters Association. Mizzou RNA, one of three student chapters in the country, has created dynamic programming, field trips and Google hangouts with experienced reporters—some of the identical content my religion reporting course offered. By nurturing and advising the group, I have reached not just journalism students but some religious studies students who want to know how to write for public audiences. It’s an exciting development that reaches not just students in their higher level courses but freshmen and sophomores, too.

My hope is that a broader course and this focused student chapter of a professional trade association of religion specialists will reach more students and perhaps, spark a deeper interest in the topic. That way, I can mentor individual students who are passionate enough to stick it out through tight job markets and limited internships.

The market doesn’t have room for three dozen new religion reporting wannabes joining the market each year. But there is certainly room for a few talented, exceptional journalists who fall in love with the religion beat the same way I fell in love with it. And thank goodness; without them, the beat’s future would surely be in doubt.

Diana Tucker and Jason Wrench, the editors of Casing Sport Communication, invite the submission of fictional case studies for the 1st edition of the volume to be published by Kendall Hunt in Fall 2015.

The cases will be built around major concepts that are seen in both sport communication research and within textbooks on the subject. The goal of these cases is to present a short fictional account of a sport communication dilemma similar in writing and format to those published in Wrench’s Casing Organizational Communication (2012, Kendall-Hunt), Wrench, Schuman, and Flayhan’s Casing Public Relations (2014, Kendall-Hunt), or the Harvard Business Review.

To see a list of the topics we hope to cover in Casing Sport Communication, please go to the website listed below. Some cases will focus on a specific topic, while others may cover multiple topics within a single case.

Our recommendation is to try to write a case that takes a unique twist on a specific topic or combine multiple topics seamlessly into a coherent case. For example, maybe you’d write a case concerning sport as religion while exploring specific issues of masculinity in fan blogs. We’re not saying these specifically, but the more unique you can make the case and the greater diversity of ideas explored within the case, the greater the likelihood that it will be included in the final volume.

Authors who base their cases on actual events in the sport world will be asked to de-identify names and facts that could identify people, organizations, or specific situations. All of the cases should be fictional as well as decision based cases where the main character is left at the end of the case needing to make some kind of decision, but the possible decision alternatives should not be spelled out for the readers. These cases are intended to be short (10-15 pages).

All case authors will be asked to submit a subsequent teacher’s note for the case that will be made available for instructors using the case study book. To help you choose a topic (or topics), and prepare your case and teacher note, please visit Jason Wrench’s website and look at the sample case and teacher’s note. You can also download the writing templates for both the case study and teacher’s note to help you prepare your case.

http://www.jasonswrench.com/writings/books/inprocess/sportcases.html

Please submit your case September 1, 2014, for inclusion in the case study book. All manuscripts should be submitted in either Microsoft Office Word or OpenOffice Writer. We can wait for the teaching notes until later in Spring 2015 if necessary.

For more information, please contact us at SportCommCases@aol.com or diana.tucker@waldenu.edu

Journalists and experts in the cultural influences shaping religion and media in Quebec will be featured in a panel discussion and breakfast during the annual convention of the Association of Journalism and Mass Communication in Canada.

Sponsored by the Religion and Media Interest Group, the panel discussion will be 8-10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, at a restaurant near the convention hotel. (The restaurant location will be announced later.) The breakfast will be a pay-your-own-way event. It is designed to give RMIG members the opportunities to explore current issues in religion and media in Montreal and Quebec.

Confirmed speakers for the panel include Harvey L Shepherd, editor of the Montreal Anglican and formerly long-time reporter for the Montreal Gazette and Dr. Juliann Sivulka, professor of American Studies and Mass Communications at Waseda University in Tokyo and an expert on American media and advertising. Invited speakers include other Canadian reporters, editors, broadcasters and online journalists.

In Canada, while religion specialists do not always cover religion in quite the same way as at American media outlets, religion and media issues often dominate the news. Of major impact in recent years have been ongoing scandals related to pedophilia in Canadian churches and the proposed Charter of Values. Proposals for such a charter in the Quebec national assembly have
Included language that would prohibit public employees from wearing “overt and conspicuous” religious garb at work.

For more information about the breakfast, email Cecile Holmes at cholmes@sc.edu

Tuesday, August 5
1-5 pm How to Get Published Co-sponsor with Media Management and Economics, Media Ethics
The pre-conference will explore issues related to successfully publishing journal articles and books including how to: formulate a strong and interesting research project, write and edit a manuscript, select a journal or book publisher to submit a manuscript to, submit an article or book for consideration, revise work based on reviewer comments, and work with editors during the revision process.

Wednesday, August 6
8:15-9:45 am Referred paper session

10:00-11:30 am Referred paper session

1:30-3:00 pm The Religion of Sports Co-sponsor with Sports and Communication Interest Group
This panel would examine several possible points of convergence between sports and religion in mass media and culture. It would look at issues such as the fanaticism toward sports teams and the ritualization of sporting events from the typical Saturday afternoon college football game to the Super Bowl. The panel would also welcome research on how religion is injected into sports with groups such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the cultural and media phenomenon of people such as Tim Tebow, who are both prominent athletes and quasi-religious figures. It also would include discussion of the faith of Jackie Robinson (who played for the Montreal Royals en route to the major leagues) and prayer during broadcasted conferences.

Thursday, August 7
8:15-9:45 am Theorizing the Religious Media Marketplace: God, Media, and Money Co-sponsor with Media Management and Economics
The media marketplace significantly impacts the production, distribution and interpretation of texts. A “successful” text is not necessarily one with engaging content or excellent quality, but one that moves units. The Christian media industry is not immune from marketplace concerns, and generates $4.6 billion a year, according to the Association for Christian Retail. Much religion and media scholarship, however, ignores the influence that the media marketplace has on religious texts. We do not tend to acknowledge how religious media must generate revenue—even if they are not attempting to make a profit—and instead focus on its perceived religious purposes: promoting faith, engaging in belief, and so on. This panel addresses the lack of market-centered frameworks of religion and media scholarship, and explores the impact that the religious media marketplace can have on religion and media research. The presentations cover theoretical frameworks, methodologies, and sites of inquiry for market-based explorations of religious media.

11:45 am-1:15 pm Referred paper session

1:30-3:30 Religion and Media Interest Group Members’ Meeting
Come join us and get involved. The committee will report the state of the interest group and members will elect new officials for next school year. We look forward to seeing you there.

Friday, August 8
8:00-10:00 am RMIG Social: Religion and Media in MontrealPanel discussion on Quebec’s Charter of Values and other issues. Featuring professional journalists in the Montreal region

Saturday, August 9
11:00 am- 12:30 pm Teaching applied ethics at a denominational or sectarian institution Co-sponsor with Small Programs Interest Group
This panel will discuss teaching how to integrate a faith-based philosophical framework contrasted the dominant utilitarian philosophical perspective in media practice. Moving from philosophy to praxis takes ingenuity and creative thinking. Often, students and professionals struggle with how to confront/address complex ethical dilemmas in the media. We propose featuring colleagues who have found ways to do just this.

BUIES CREEK — Lighthouse Publishers of the Carolinas has released “The ABC List of Feature Ideas,” a new book for budding journalists by Michael Ray Smith, a communication studies professor at Campbell University.

Smith wrote the book to help new writers generate story ideas and think strategically in planning and executing features articles for the popular press.

He said he consulted writers from across the nation on the book.

In addition to “The ABC List of Feature Ideas,” Smith is working with Lighthouse Publishers on two other books slated for release in 2014: “Seven Days to a Byline” and “How I Write.”

Smith has written hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines and online sites including the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Enquirer, USA TODAY, Christianity Today, Guidepost, Decision and others. He is the head for Small Programs Interest Group, one of the largest interest groups in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication for the 2013-2014 academic year.

In 2012 Campbell’s Faculty Development and Research Committee presented Smith with the Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence. In addition, he was named the Top 50 Journalism Professors in 2012 by www.journalismdegree.org, a web site that spotlights the best journalism professors and programs nationally.

This year we had a new procedure for joint panel proposals. It turned out fine, although the process was somewhat nerve wracking. We received a few proposals and three of them were picked up by other divisions/interest groups. We also agreed to help with a pre-conference workshop on publication. We will, in other words, co-sponsor four panels for the 2014 AEJMC conference in Montreal, Canada, August 6-9:

· “How to get published”: pre-conference workshop, co-sponsor with the Media Management and Economics, and Media Ethics Divisions.

By Denise McGill

School of Journalism & Mass Communications, University of South Carolina

I worked for 10 years as a photojournalist in newspapers and later as an overseas correspondent for a national magazine. Upon finishing a master’s degree, I taught at two small, faith-based colleges. I’m now on faculty at a Research I, publicly-funded university.

I appreciate each setting for different reasons.

I’m a product of public education. I completed K through 12, bachelors and graduate degrees at public institutions. I’m a big fan of the concept that students at every level should have access to quality, affordable education.

That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the role of private schools. Far from it. In fact, teaching at private schools helped me see the advantages there.

There are many differences, but the biggest is the core mission of the universities. By working at a school with a faith-based mission, faculty and staff assume a common interest in building spiritual lives of students.

For instance, at a public school, a course on ethics is mostly an intellectual exercise: the students read about ethics and demonstrate they understand the material. One can earn a top grade in an ethics course without being an ethical person. With my public-school upbringing, such a paradox had never occurred to me. At a faith-based school, a course on ethics is more likely to attempt to influence students’ behavior and attitudes. Whether you agree to not, I was glad I was exposed to this paradigm.

One pleasant surprise was the approach to diversity. I taught at a parochial school with a large program in American Sign Language. Over 10 percent of the students had disabilities of all kinds, and they were woven into daily campus life. I learned to teach web design through a translator. I threw a pizza party for a newspaper staff that included a quadriplegic student who was a sports writer. These experiences helped me understand some of the nuances involved in making my classes accessible to all students.

Most of the differences in the institutions are not about faith, however. The biggest differences involve the size of the schools and the funding sources. I’m sure many of our colleagues in the Small Programs Interest Group share my experiences. The emphasis is usually squarely on teaching. In my case, all faculty taught four courses per semester.

At my first teaching gig I knew a lot about photography, but not much about teaching. I benefitted from immersion in the teaching world and good mentors from the education department.

Working at a small school is a lot like working at a small newspaper. Doing it all with fewer resources is great training for a larger market. It turns out I like being a little fish in the big pond. I like challenging all students, not just students of a particular faith. I like having time to publish creative work. But the lessons of my early career have made me a better professor now.

Denise McGill has a master’s degree from Ohio University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri. She is on professional tenure track at the University of South Carolina. Current RMIG newsletter editor Greg Perreault was a student at Palm Beach Atlantic University in one of the first courses McGill ever taught. God bless him.

By Michael Longinow

Productivity is hard — for everybody. Let’s just put that out there up front.

But some people make it look easier. This article will suggest ways the best of you can do it better; those of you wondering how to get started might find new insights.

The first point to remember is that floating is bad. A key principle of survival swimming is that you’re better off moving than bobbing in place. Sharks, it’s said, will die — in most situations — if they stop swimming. The same goes for academics. So to keep active, don’t just shelve those AEJMC journals. Skim them. Mark them up. Check out the literature reviews and what’s new in how authors come at topics you enjoy.

If you’re at a stand-still, a trick for jump-starting yourself for scholarly writing is to review scholarly books. Some advice, though: don’t waste your time with reviews of stuff unrelated to what you teach or are researching. Pick reviews that will launch your own spin-off studies.

And look for bang on your buck. A wise colleague told me once that if you don’t show up professionally in ways people notice, nobody’s going to announce you. Profile matters. But beware artificial noise-making. That does more harm than good. What’s better is when what you’ve published, contributed to, or shown up in was simply unavoidable. Get your work into the right academic neighborhood — in high-traffic areas of intellectual inquiry. You know what those journals, trade publications and other media are for your discipline.

Some journals (like the AEJMC quarterly) get catalogued in EBSCOHost and other academic databases. Hint: that includes some scholarly book reviews.

Edited anthologies aren’t a bad idea either, if it’s a prominent university press or scholarly publisher (Oxford University Press comes to mind). By writing a chapter or two, you keep the wheels rolling (or the flippers going.)

Another suggestion: mark your calendar for personal writing deadlines. It helps with academic guilt. (Yes, we all feel it at times.) Some of us are swamped during the year. Come clean with that — it’s okay. Live in the moment, enjoy your teaching (more importantly, get better at it,) and take some bike rides or runs by the lake.

Pick a deadline that you know will keep you grinding through summer — your optimum time period. If you have a light fall or spring coming up, aim at a paper call that lands just after that term is over. Take a black marker and write up that wall calendar. If you’re a digital person, create pop-up reminders for yourself. By ticking off benchmarks, you keep the research and writing on track. If you’ve got scholar friends (and if you don’t, make some) get them to ask you how it’s going. Talking about your projects helps you figure them out and keeps them from stalling.

Yet another suggestion: collaborate. There are colleagues at your school or at another institution who share your passion for a research topic. That colleague might have better access to a data set or an archive than you do. Pick a topic over coffee, at the back of an AEJMC session, or even in a strategic Skype call. Nail down who’s doing what, set some benchmark deadlines for yourselves, and get rolling. A key to collaborative research is communication. Put chat sessions on the calendar and make sure you don’t miss them. Joint projects die fast when parties aren’t talking or when one person thinks something’s done and it isn’t.

Finally, multi-task. When you start one project and it’s near completion, you should have another project ready to go. Get that next one started before you’re done with the one you’re completing. Research and writing projects in overlap mode have a way of fending off the lethargy that comes when you’ve stopped swimming.

2014 Media Development Seminar

June 5-16, 2014 in Jerusalem and the West Bank

Applications due January 20, 2014
Awards announced February 28, 2014

The Palestinian American Research Center (PARC) announces its first Media Development Seminar on Palestine. This 12-day seminar is for U.S. faculty members with a demonstrated interest in, but little travel experience to, Palestine.

PARC will select 10 to 12 U.S. journalism/media faculty members to participate in Jerusalem-based activities that will include visiting university media departments and local media outlets as well as meeting with Palestinian scholars and members of the Palestinian media community, civil society and government.

Through these activities, participants will learn about the region, deepen their knowledge of media in and about Palestine, and build relationships with Palestinian colleagues both in academia and the media sector.

Applicants must:

Be U.S. citizens.

Be faculty members at recognized U.S. colleges or universities. Applicants should be professors in media, journalism, or other related departments at their universities.

Have a demonstrated interest in Palestine.

Have little previous travel experience to Palestine.

Be willing to integrate their experiences from the seminar into their own teaching and/or pursue a joint research project or publication with a Palestinian colleague.

Be a member of PARC. Applicants can visit the PARC membership page for more information on how to become a member.

PARC will make all arrangements for seminars, workshops, tours, and meetings with Palestinian colleagues. PARC will cover all expenses for in-country group ground travel, accommodations, and group meals, as well as round trip international travel from the U.S. to Tel Aviv. Personal and free day expenses will be the responsibility of each faculty member.

Call for Papers

Religion and Media Interest Group at AEJMC 2014

The Religion and Media Interest Group (RMIG) invites submission of research papers on topics that incorporate themes related to religion and media. RMIG will consider papers using quantitative, qualitative or historical research methods and accepts any recognized citation style (although APA is preferred). Please note that essays, commentaries, or simple literature reviews will not be considered. Possible areas of research focus include (but are not limited to): studies of religious group members and uses of religious or secular media; exploration of media coverage of religious issues and groups; analysis of audiences for religious news; media strategies of religious organizations; religious advertising; religious and spiritual content in popular culture; etc. Papers focusing on historically underrepresented religions, denominations and/or groups as well as religious contexts outside the U.S. are strongly encouraged. For more about RMIG and its mission, please see http://www.religionandmedia.org/our-mission-and-
goals/. Papers will be considered for presentation as traditional research panels and poster sessions.

The maximum length of research papers is 25-pages, excluding endnotes and
tables. The Religion and Media Interest Group also sponsors a Top Paper competition for both student and faculty papers. (Note: student papers may not have a faculty co-author.) The top student and faculty papers will be awarded $100 each, with the second-place student and faculty papers receiving $50 each. Co-authors will split the monetary awards, but each will receive a plaque. The awards will not be given if the selected papers are not presented at the conference. In order to be considered for the Top Paper competition, please specify either a student submission or a faculty submission on the cover page of the paper. Student papers that are not clearly identified as student submissions will not be considered for the student Top Paper Competition. All paper submissions must follow the 2014 AEJMC Uniform Paper Call.

Please pay particular attention to the following section of that call:

Before submitting your paper, please make certain that all author-identifying information has been removed and that all instructions have been followed per the AEJMC uniform paper call. Papers uploaded with author’s identifying information displayed WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM THE COMPETITION. ALL AEJMC DIVISIONS, INTEREST GROUPS AND COMMISSION PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL ABIDE BY THIS RULE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.

Questions should be submitted to the RMIG Research Chair Joel Campbell at
joeljaycampbell@gmail.com. Type “RMIG Research Paper” in the subject line when communicating via e-mail.

_____

Elon University 2014 Media and Religion Conference

Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, 2014

The Elon School of Communications invites paper submissions and panel proposals on any aspect of media and religion for the 5th Annual Media & Religion conference to be held on the Elon University campus Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.

There will be a Friday evening keynote speaker (TBA) and paper & panel presentations on Saturday.

Conference Topics: Papers and panels may be on any topic that considers the connection between media and religion, including interfaith issues, papers on culture and religion, the press and religion, and the intersection of faith and new or traditional media forms. Papers dealing with any faith tradition are welcomed.

Paper Guidelines: Entries must be no longer than 25 pages of text, double-spaced, in 12-point type, excluding notes. The Chicago Manual of Style is preferred, but other formats are acceptable.

Papers should be submitted electronically as an MS Word document with author identification and affiliation on a title page only. Each paper must be submitted as an attachment with a 100-word abstract and contact information in the text of the email to Professor Anthony Hatcher: ahatcher@elon.edu.

Panel Guidelines: Proposals should be submitted electronically as a 1-2 page attachment, either a PDF or MS Word document. Panel proposals should include: 1) a brief description; 2) names and affiliations of moderator and participants; 3) a brief summary of each participant’s presentation. Submit panel proposals to Professor Don A. Grady: gradyd@elon.edu.

Submissions Deadline: Both paper and panel entries are due on FEBRUARY 14, 2014. Authors of accepted papers are expected to attend the conference, which will include a Friday evening keynote address and presentations all day on Saturday. Questions? Contact Anthony Hatcher at ahatcher@elon.edu.

REGISTRATION FOR THE CONFERENCE IS ONLY $25, PAYABLE ON SITE.

Elon University is located between the Triad and Triangle regions of North Carolina with easy access off of I-40/I-85. Local airports are Raleigh-Durham International and Piedmont Triad International. This event is sponsored by the Elon University School of Communications, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, and the Elon Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society.

International Society for Media, Religion and Culture

4-6 August 2014 / post-conference workshop 7 August 2014

Over the past decade the study of media, religion and culture has broadened out from interests in media representation to thinking about the religious uses and aesthetics of media, the significance of media for religion in public life, and the role of media technologies for new forms of religious life and practice.

Building on this, the biannual conference of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture will explore how we can understand societies in which much public encounter with religion takes place through media and in which religious life takes place through a multiplicity of mediated practices and networks. It will explore questions such as what difference do media content, aesthetics, technologies and networks make to the ways in which religion is understood and practiced? And how do we understand the nature of power in relation to these mediated networks and practices?

Keynote speakers will include Professor Jonathan Walton (Harvard), author of Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism, Associate Professor Kathryn Lofton(Yale), author of Oprah: The Gospel of an Icon, with an address also given by the inaugural President of the Society, Professor Stewart Hoover (Colorado).

Key information about the conference, including the call for papers which is open until 3 December 2013, registration and accommodation details and the conference programme, is available here: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/thrs/events/event2014-08-06.html. If you have any queries about the conference which are not answered in the information below then please email IMRC 2014.

We are accepting paper proposals of up to 350 words; panel proposals (which must include paper titles, 150 word abstracts for each paper, and names and titles of four participants plus a moderator/respondent); and proposals for exhibitions and/or workshops of up to 350 words. Sessions will be 1½ hours in length.

Some of the questions that may be addressed in paper, panel, workshop, or exhibition proposals include:

The role of media in shaping religious and cultural understandings

Emergent networks of meaning, religion, and power

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of religion and media

The role of religious and humanitarian organizations in cross-national justice and media initiatives

Media and human rights

Media, religion, and authority

Religious conflict and media representation

Religion and film

Growing up multi-cultural and multi-religious in a mediated world

Religion, globalization and cosmopolitanism

The role of media in the emergence of global religious and cultural movements

Diasporic media and transnational religious communities

Media, religion and global politics

The mediatization of religion

Religion, media, and the global marketplace

Proposals should be sent to Professor Lynn Schofield Clark, University of Denver (Lynn.Clark@du.edu) by 3 December 2013. Notification of acceptances will be sent out from 15th January 2014.

It’s an honor to head the Religion and Media Interest Group this year; I hope we have a fruitful year working together.

I received my Ph.D. degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Iowa and am currently an associate professor in the Department of International Cultural Studies at Brigham Young University Hawaii. My teaching responsibility resides mostly in the field of cultural studies, including intercultural communication, gender/race and culture, and media and culture, etc. In addition to religion and media, my research areas also touch on Journalistic narratives in Chinese speaking regions, Asian American history and contemporary issues, feminism, and more recently gender and sport narratives in Polynesia.

I am a woman of few words, so I don’t really have much else to say. But I do very much appreciate this year’s officers for their willingness to help. I am looking forward to working with them and to serving the RMIG community. Please don’t hesitate to contact us when you need information regarding RMIG’s functions.

Dr. Myna German, chair of the Department of Mass Communication at Delaware State University, has recently returned from Portugal, where she presented a symposium on topics relating to her co-published book Migration, Technology and Transculturation (via Delaware State University).

Dr. Debra Mason brings more than 25 years of professional reporting, research, and teaching experience to her position. Her major religion and media research work includes a content audit of religion news spanning 50 years and the largest telephone survey of religion journalists. She edited the recently published Religion Reporting: A Guide to Journalism’s Best Beat, and co-edited Readings in Religion as News, a collection of religion news from the colonial era to the present. Mason also serves on the editorial board and is book review editor for the Journal of Media and Religion. Mason holds a doctoral degree in mass communication from Ohio University in Athens, a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago and a master’s in theological studies from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Mason has received numerous grants, awards and other honors for her work. She is a member of the American Academy of Religion, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and the Council for National Journalism Organizations, among many others (via University of Missouri).

Before joining the Communications Department at Brigham Young University as an assistant professor, Joel Campell was a reporter and editor at the Deseret News in Salt Lake City and manager of corporate communciations at Management and Training Corp. in Centerville, Utah. He holds a master’s degree from Ohio State University and bachelor’s degree from BYU.

Campbell is active in many First Amendment and Freedom of Information causes and is past president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and chairman of Society of Professional Journalists’ national Freedom of Information Committee. He is legislative monitor for the Utah Press Association and vice president of the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He serves on the Utah Information Technology Commission (via Brigham Young University).

After a year as an associate journalism professor at Union University, Julia Duin is now a graduate student at the University of Memphis earning her second MA (in journalism). Her first was in religion. She’s also been an adjunct at the University of Maryland and a contributing writer for The Washington Post. She spent the bulk of her career as a writer and reporter for five newspapers, including The Houston Chronicle and The Washington Times. She’s also written five books and is researching a sixth on 20-something pentecostal serpent handlers in Appalachia. Her latest two are “Quitting Church: Why the Faithful are Fleeing” and “Days of Fire and Glory: The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community.”

Greg Perreault comes from a print journalism background and has been published in newspapers including USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald and the Palm Beach Post. He holds an M.A. in Communication, Culture, Technology from Georgetown University and a B.A. in News & Information from Palm Beach Atlantic University. He has served on faculty at the Washington Journalism Center and as a newspaper advisor for Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is currently pursing a Ph.D. at the University of Missouri and continues to freelance on religion and video games for the Huffington Post.

Dr. Dan Stout previously worked at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and the University of South Carolina. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Media and Religion. He brings an impressive research publication record with him including three edited books, over two dozen book chapters and scholarly/professional articles. He is an internationally known expert on religion and the mass media. His professional experience is in advertising at the Houston Chronicle. He holds a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, an M.A. from the University of Georgia and a B.A. from Brigham Young University (via University of Nevada-Las Vegas).

By Jennifer Hoewe, Penn State University

Undoubtedly, religion continues to be a persistent topic in and influence on media content. Despite its pervasiveness in media, religion has not received the type of widespread attention in media scholarship seemingly deserving of such a value-laden subject. Instead, studies on media coverage of religion or the influence of religion on media coverage take up only a fraction of the overall body of media research.

It seems part of our duty as members of – or those with an interested in – the Religion and Media Interest Group to put the intersection of religion and media in the spotlight of media research. This ambitious call, of course, requires high-quality research that presents interesting and thought-provoking research questions and hypotheses followed by thorough analyses and thoughtful conclusions. It ought to position religion, its media coverage, and its influence on media content as entities deserving of further scholarly attention. Such attention, of course, is wholly deserving.

As a student interested in the study of religion and media, I believe it’s incumbent upon my generation of researchers to recognize the potential in this area of scholarship. Not only is it an important and socially influential field of research, it has many unexplored areas. This fruitful position seems to present an ideal opportunity for burgeoning scholars: the chance to delve into an area of media research left largely unexplored. For example, one might ask how perpetual consumption of the Muslim terrorist stereotype in the media has influenced public opinion about Muslim individuals more generally. One also might ask how a substantial and growing portion of the American population – adults with no religious affiliation – feel about their portrayal in the media. Furthermore, how are these individuals depicted? These ideas aren’t overly complicated, but they offer fertile avenues ripe for academic exploration.

Practically speaking, this work also holds important implications for the non-academic population. Many religions and denominations of religions are misunderstood, particularly in their international contexts. Research examining the meaning of various religious affiliations in different regions of a country – or the world – would offer an opportunity to provide more information about how individuals define themselves. Such knowledge could aid media creators in producing more accurate religious contexts. It could then encourage a more accurately equipped media consumer.

Simply put, I hope the kind of research supported by the Religion and Media Interest Group continues to increase in number, as the intersection of religion and media appears to be a constant.

Below you’ll find a series of calls for religion and media related papers:______

Call for RMIG Joint Panel Proposals for the 2014 AEJMC Convention

Aloha RMIG Colleagues:

It’s not too early to think about the upcoming AEJMC Conference in Montreal, Canada on August 6-9, 2014. Due to the changes in the chip auction process, deadlines have been pushed up for the 2014 AEJMC conference. Please submit your proposal to RMIG by October 9, 2013.
Panel proposals should contain the following information:

Panel Title

Panel Type: e.g. PF&R, teaching, or research panel

Panel Sponsorship: Indicate which AEJMC divisions or interest groups might also be interested in co-sponsoring the panel. (Please note that while RMIG sole-sponsored panel proposals may be considered, the majority of AEJMC panels tend to be co-sponsored across divisions and interest groups to attract a higher attendance.)

Description of Panel: Provide a paragraph description of the key issues or subject matter to be addressed.

Possible Panelists: Include individuals who would be potential participants for this panel and indicate that whether you have confirmed that participation with them. It’s not necessary to have all potential panelists listed.

Possible Moderator

Contact Person: Include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number as the contact person for this panel proposal.

Please send proposals to both Myna Germans (mgerman@desu.edu) and Chiung Hwang Chen (chenc@byuh.edu) by October 9. Don’t hesitate to contact us ifyou have any questions. (Attached is the form needed to propose panels.)

Mahalo.

Chiung Hwang Chen

BYU Hawaii

RMIG Head

________

CALL FOR CHAPTER AUTHORS

Dear Colleagues,

A leading academic publisher has contracted a two-volume series entitled “The Electronic Church in the Digital Age: Cultural Impacts of Evangelical Mass Media.” As general editor, I am calling for chapter authors.

Some chapters for Volume 1 have been assigned, but others–including several chapters on radio, TV, and online media–need authors. These chapters investigate the role that evangelical mass media play as the subculture constructs identity, community, and the Other.

For Volume 2, we call for authors who will:

(1) research and report what evangelical broadcasters and media organizations today are actually saying about, and how they critique, a given U.S. institution;

(3) inform scholars and educated general readers not only what evangelical media are saying, but also how media criticism can aid our understanding of what is said.

Authors are needed to write chapters on how evangelical mass media critique:

the role of religion in public life
other (non-evangelical) Christians
other world religions
the role of government
economic issues
social issues
the family
education
war/defense

Both established and new scholars are welcome. Chapters are projected at about 8,000 words and not due until May or early summer. If interested in writing for Volume 1 or 2, please contact Mark Ward at wardm@uhv.edu.

Over the past decade the study of media, religion and culture has broadened out from interests in media representation to thinking about the religious uses and aesthetics of media, the significance of media for religion in public life, and the role of media technologies for new forms of religious life and practice. Building on this, the conference will explore how we can understand societies in which much public encounter with religion takes place through media and in which diverse religious lives are lived through a multiplicity of mediated networks. What difference do media content, aesthetics, technologies and networks make to the ways in which religion is understood, practiced and engaged? How do we understand the nature of power in relation to these mediated networks and practices?

The conference will explore these issues from a range of disciplinary perspectives, bringing together scholars in media studies, religious studies, international studies, the anthropology and sociology of religion, history, the study of literature and public policy. This is the biennial meeting of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture, which, since its first meeting in 1996, has become the leading international conference for the discussion of research in this field.

We are accepting paper proposals of up to 350 words; panel proposals (which must include paper titles, 150 word abstracts for each paper, and names and titles of four participants plus a moderator/respondent); and proposals for exhibitions and/or workshops of up to 350 words. Sessions will be 1½ hours in length. The conference will also feature as a keynote speaker Professor Jonathan Walton of Harvard, author of Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism. Plans also include a banquet with an address from Inaugural Society President Stewart M. Hoover, and plenary panels involving well-known contributors in this area.

Some of the questions that may be addressed in paper, panel, workshop, or exhibition proposals include:

• The role of media in shaping religious and cultural understandings
• Emergent networks of meaning, religion, and power
• Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of religion and media
• The role of religious and humanitarian organizations in cross-national justice and media initiatives
• Media and human rights
• Media, religion, and authority
• Religious conflict and media representation
• Religion and film
• Growing up multi-cultural and multi-religious in a mediated world
• Religion, globalization and cosmopolitanism
• The role of media in the emergence of global religious and cultural movements
• Diasporic media and transnational religious communities
• Media, religion and global politics
• The mediatization of religion
• Religion, media, and the global marketplace

The conference will be held at the Cathedral Lodge conference centre in Canterbury in the United Kingdom. Canterbury is an attractive town with many buildings dating to the medieval period, and parts of which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Canterbury has good transport links to airports in the London area as well as the Eurostar train service to continental Europe.

Proposals for individual papers, panels, workshops and exhibitions should be sent to:

Lynn Schofield Clark, Professor, University of Denver, Conference Program Planner and Vice President, International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture: Lynn.Clark@du.edu.

Details about registration and housing for the conference will be uploaded on the conference webpage (link to URL), and queries may be sent to the conference convenor, Professor Gordon Lynch, University of Kent: G.Lynch@kent.ac.uk
To receive updates on the conference, like us on Facebook!

______________

Call for Papers: Console-ing Passions

April 10-12, 2014, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Keynote speaker: Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communication, Goldsmiths, University of London

Founded by a group of feminist media scholars and artists in 1989, Console-ing Passions held its first official conference at the University of Iowa in 1992. Since that time, Console-ing Passions has become the leading international scholarly network for feminist research in television, video, audio, and new media.

The 2014 conference invites individual papers, pre-constituted panels, and workshops that consider the breadth of feminist issues on television, video, audio, and new media. We seek proposals that address the broader aims of Console-ing Passions: gender, race and ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, class, and (dis)ability.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM (Central) on Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

Please submit all proposals to: Console-ingPassions.org

Individual Papers: Individuals submitting paper proposals should provide an abstract of 250 words, a short bio, and contact information.

Pre-Constituted Panel Proposals: Panel coordinators should submit a 200-word rationale for the panel as whole. For each contributor, please submit a 250-word abstract, a short bio, and contact information. Panels that include a diversity of panelist affiliations and experience levels are strongly encouraged. Panels should include 3-4 papers.

Workshop Proposals: We seek workshop ideas that focus on scholarly issues in the field and matters of professionalization. Topics might include: media activism; mentoring; the job market; digital networking; workplace politics; teaching; tenure and promotion; publishing; etc. Coordinators should submit a 350-word rationale (including some discussion of why the topic lends itself to a workshop format), a short bio, and contact information. For each workshop participant, please submit a title, short bio, and contact information. Workshops are intended to encourage discussion; contributors should plan on a series of brief, informal presentations.

Screening Proposals: We invite proposals for video, audio, and new media screenings. Proposals should consist of a 350-word abstract (including the length and format of the work), a short bio of the producer/director, and contact information. If the work is viewable online, please submit a url.

I am putting together a panel on dissent in religion, labor, and politics (and wherever else) for ECA. There is room for two more panelists. If interested, please contact me: ddewberry@rider.edu

David R. Dewberry, Ph.D.
Editor, First Amendment Studies

_____

Upcoming Conference

The Image and the Word

Forum4:15 | September 26-27, 2013 | Spring Arbor University

This conference includes both live and virtual presentations.

Forum4:15 explores the relationship between motive and message (Ephesians 4:15). The conference is hosted by the graduate program in communication at Spring Arbor University and held on the campus of the University in Spring Arbor, Michigan. It begins Thursday evening and ends Saturday at noon.

The theme of the 2013 conference is The Image and the Word.

This year Forum4:15 features Terry Lindvall, the C.S. Lewis Chair of Communication and Christian Thought at Virginia Wesleyan College and Quentin Schultze, Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair and Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Calvin College.

This conference invites both virtual and live presentations and papers by faculty and students exploring all aspects of visual communication, including the tension between an image-driven postmodern culture and a “People of the Book.”

Presentations are not limited to cinema. Discussions of still photography, comics, graphics, tattoos and other visual forms including theater are welcome, as are studies of the effects of visual communication on literacy, faith and communication.

Presentations are limited to 20 minutes and will be grouped by media or topic whenever possible. Panels will have 45 minutes. Presentations will be conducted on the Go-To-Meeting webinar platform. A brief training session will be required for virtual presenters.

Over the past decade the study of media, religion and culture has broadened out from interests in media representation to thinking about the religious uses and aesthetics of media, the significance of media for religion in public life, and the role of media technologies for new forms of religious life and practice. Building on this, the conference will explore how we can understand societies in which much public encounter with religion takes place through media and in which diverse religious lives are lived through a multiplicity of mediated networks. What difference do media content, aesthetics, technologies and networks make to the ways in which religion is understood, practiced and engaged? How do we understand the nature of power in relation to these mediated networks and practices?

The conference will explore these issues from a range of disciplinary perspectives, bringing together scholars in media studies, religious studies, international studies, the anthropology and sociology of religion, history, the study of literature and public policy. This is the biennial meeting of the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture, which, since its first meeting in 1996, has become the leading international conference for the discussion of research in this field.

We are accepting paper proposals of up to 350 words; panel proposals (which must include paper titles, 150 word abstracts for each paper, and names and titles of four participants plus a moderator/respondent); and proposals for exhibitions and/or workshops of up to 350 words. Sessions will be 1½ hours in length. The conference will also feature as a keynote speaker Professor Jonathan Walton of Harvard, author of Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism. Plans also include a banquet with an address from Inaugural Society President Stewart M. Hoover, and plenary panels involving well-known contributors in this area.

Some of the questions that may be addressed in paper, panel, workshop, or exhibition proposals include:

• The role of media in shaping religious and cultural understandings
• Emergent networks of meaning, religion, and power
• Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of religion and media
• The role of religious and humanitarian organizations in cross-national justice and media initiatives
• Media and human rights
• Media, religion, and authority
• Religious conflict and media representation
• Religion and film
• Growing up multi-cultural and multi-religious in a mediated world
• Religion, globalization and cosmopolitanism
• The role of media in the emergence of global religious and cultural movements
• Diasporic media and transnational religious communities
• Media, religion and global politics
• The mediatization of religion
• Religion, media, and the global marketplace

The conference will be held at the Cathedral Lodge conference centre in Canterbury in the United Kingdom. Canterbury is an attractive town with many buildings dating to the medieval period, and parts of which have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Canterbury has good transport links to airports in the London area as well as the Eurostar train service to continental Europe.

Proposals for individual papers, panels, workshops and exhibitions should be sent to:

Lynn Schofield Clark, Professor, University of Denver, Conference Program Planner and Vice President, International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture: Lynn.Clark@du.edu.

Details about registration and housing for the conference will be uploaded on the conference webpage (link to URL), and queries may be sent to the conference convenor, Professor Gordon Lynch, University of Kent: G.Lynch@kent.ac.uk
To receive updates on the conference, like us on Facebook!

______________

April 10-12, 2014, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Keynote speaker: Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communication, Goldsmiths, University of London

Founded by a group of feminist media scholars and artists in 1989, Console-ing Passions held its first official conference at the University of Iowa in 1992. Since that time, Console-ing Passions has become the leading international scholarly network for feminist research in television, video, audio, and new media.

The 2014 conference invites individual papers, pre-constituted panels, and workshops that consider the breadth of feminist issues on television, video, audio, and new media. We seek proposals that address the broader aims of Console-ing Passions: gender, race and ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, class, and (dis)ability.

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 PM (Central) on Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

Please submit all proposals to: Console-ingPassions.org

Individual Papers: Individuals submitting paper proposals should provide an abstract of 250 words, a short bio, and contact information.

Pre-Constituted Panel Proposals: Panel coordinators should submit a 200-word rationale for the panel as whole. For each contributor, please submit a 250-word abstract, a short bio, and contact information. Panels that include a diversity of panelist affiliations and experience levels are strongly encouraged. Panels should include 3-4 papers.

Workshop Proposals: We seek workshop ideas that focus on scholarly issues in the field and matters of professionalization. Topics might include: media activism; mentoring; the job market; digital networking; workplace politics; teaching; tenure and promotion; publishing; etc. Coordinators should submit a 350-word rationale (including some discussion of why the topic lends itself to a workshop format), a short bio, and contact information. For each workshop participant, please submit a title, short bio, and contact information. Workshops are intended to encourage discussion; contributors should plan on a series of brief, informal presentations.

Screening Proposals: We invite proposals for video, audio, and new media screenings. Proposals should consist of a 350-word abstract (including the length and format of the work), a short bio of the producer/director, and contact information. If the work is viewable online, please submit a url.

As the new Chair of the Religion and Media Interest Group of AEJMC, I would like to offer a hearty welcome to all newcomers and a note to all our members about the value and contributions we can all offer to AEJMC and the academic world as members of this interest group.

The last few years have been especially good for scholars interested in the interplay of religion and media given the run-up to an election year in the United States when religion became a significant component of the discourse about the candidates and U.S. politics. Furthermore, world events across the Middle East and the rise of laws in the European Union that discriminated against Islam in the name of “protecting women’s rights” in recent years gives rise to a need for even more outreach and study of religion, culture, and media in the modern world.

Last summer, we had a particularly good AEJMC meeting in which we were engaged in scholarship that was broad in the scope of religious traditions. Not only that, but we were also had research and panels co-sponsored with other units of AEJMC to extend our influence and knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.

This upcoming year offers another opportunity to grow as a unit and reach out to others in joint academic adventures. I would like to encourage ALL members to reach out to our colleagues in other units and encourage those with similar interests or research agendas to consider joining RMIG if they have not already done so. Finally, I would like to ask all of our members to seriously consider sending their research for the 2013 conference. As our mission statement says, we are: dedicated to the exploration of the intersection of media and religion in our world. We encourage scholarly analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) of this intersection in three areas: (1) religion portrayed in secular media; (2) the manner in which religious institutions and organizations use the media to propagate their message; and (3) the impact of religion and/or religiosity of media consumers and its impact on their media use. I would like to encourage members not only to consider scholarship that addresses a broad range of religious traditions, but also to help us move into the twenty-first century by considering non-traditional media venues as well as social media and the Internet in considering proposals and research for 2013.

Summer 2012 RMIG Newsletter

The academic year flew by so quickly we didn’t get a newsletter out to you! So here’s a packed newsletter with details of RMIG programming at the AEJMC Conference, a call for papers, and many more details of interest. We hope to see many of you soon in Chicago for AEJMC’s Annual Conference. There’s much, much more after the jump.

Cecile S. Holmes, who had a distinguished career as a religion editor for the Houston Chronicle and who is now on the University of South Carolina faculty, was elected RMIG chair for the 2011-2012 year. David Scott, at Utah Valley University, was elected vice-chair. Together, Holmes and Scott will represent RMIG at the December chip auction, when divisions and interest groups collaborate to create the Annual Conference schedule. RMIG thanks Holmes and Scott for their service to RMIG. They can be reached via their contact information on the officers’ page.

Varied opportunities abound at AEJMC summer convention

Here’s hoping you have your plans set for AEJMC in St. Louis. Here are a few random notes concerning the upcoming conference. Two highlights inside the hotel:

Linda Steiner of Maryland will be installed as 2011-12 AEJMC president. Kyu Ho Youm of Oregon will become president-elect.

This year’s keynote speech will be delivered by the Chief Innovation Officer of Chicago-based Publicis Groupe Media. Rishad Tobaccowala started the interactive marketing agency within Publicis in 1993, making him a pioneer of Internet advertising.

Keep reading past the jump for more on this summer’s AEJMC convention and even more from this summer’s newsletter.

Meet me in St. Louis

By Anthony Hatcher, ElonRIMG Chair

It’s about as cliché a headline as you can write, but in this case it’s also an invitation to get ready to do just that. AEJMC will hold its annual conference in the city from Aug. 10–13, and headquarters will be at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel.

The rates are $170 for single or double occupancy, and $200 for triple or quad rooms. Internet access is included with the room.

As you know, the research paper deadline is April 1, so it’s not too early to book those flights, reserve those rooms, and start thinking about what to do in the city when you’re not attending every single session RMIG has to offer. View our paper call and paper calls from all of the various divisions and groups.

Members attending the RMIG business meeting in Denver last month elected Anthony Hatcher of Elon University the new chair of the Religion and Media Interest Group. Cecile S. Holmes of University of South Carolina was elected vice chair. See this site for a complete list of new officers.

Cecile S. Holmes, South Carolina

RMIG thanks Paola Banchero from the University of Alaska-Anchorage for her service as chair this year. Paola was responsible for submitting the application to AEJMC requesting that RMIG be renewed as an Interest Group. That request was approved.

Toronto, Turkey and Beyond?

Conference Considers Forming International Society of Media, Religion and Culture

John P. Ferré, University of Louisville
RMIG member

The Seventh International Conference on Media, Religion, and Culture, meeting from August 9 to 13 at Ryerson University in Toronto ended with agreement to vote on the formation of an International Society of Media, Religion, and Culture (ISMRC) by June 2012, when the group will convene again in northwest Turkey on the campus of Anadolu University. ISMRC will be the first worldwide association dedicated to the academic study of media, religion and culture.

In many ways, the conference in Toronto was typical of the six international conferences on media, religion, and culture that preceded it. The conferees came from several continents — North America and Europe especially, but also Australia, Asia, Africa, and South America. The host country has always been well represented, so Canadians had a strong presence at this year’s meeting.

The conferees also came from several disciplines. Besides media studies and religious studies, participants in Toronto came from sociology, theology, English, history, and political science. Most of their papers were qualitative, but some quantitative research was presented as well.

Keep reading past the jump for more on the International Conference on Media, Religion, and Culture.

Rocky Mountain High: AEJMC Annual Convention set for Denver

By Paola Banchero, University of Alaska Anchorage
Religion and Media Interest Group head

From my vantage point overlooking snow-frosted birch trees, summer sounds a long way off. But it’s not too soon to start thinking about the AEJMC annual convention in Denver Aug. 4-7.

The Mile High City is a great place to be in August. Actually, it’s a great place to be anytime. I’m biased. I grew up in Denver and take every chance I can to visit family who live there. So let me tell you a little about the city. First off, Denver is the capital of a state that just crossed the five million mark in terms of population. Like a lot of Western cities, it’s seen a lot of growth. It started as a camp for miners who had struck gold at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and used to have a reputation as a cow town with little nightlife. Boy, that’s changed. Now it’s nearly a continuous urban area, ranging from north of the city to Fort Collins and south of the city to Pueblo. And the city boasts one of the best music scenes with venues like the Bluebird Theater at 3317 E. Colfax Ave. A retro neon sign adorns the establishment, and it’s located on a street that embraces yuppies, recent immigrants and the occasional drug user.

The conference hotel is the Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel at 1550 Court Place. Good restaurants and public transit are nearby. If you’re interested in staying at a boutique hotel, you might try the Hotel Monaco. It’s stylish and features one of the best restaurants in the city, Panzano. The restaurant was named a “Top 5” by the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News and given four stars by 5280 Magazine, one of Denver’s city magazines. The luxurious Hotel Teatro is also close by. The historic Brown Palace is the place to have afternoon tea, as the elites visiting Denver have done for decades.

For more of Paola’s take on Denver and the conference, keep reading after the jump.

FROM THE CHAIR

Religion and Politics: A Combustible Mix

Before being picked to deliver the invocation at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, Rick Warren had a relatively positive public persona. He was best known for founding Orange County, California’s Saddleback Church, and for the success of his book, The Purpose-Drive Life. He was also lauded for promoting broad social justice issues that do not tend to align with the priorities of his evangelical peers. Even though evangelicals like Warren tend to support Republican candidates, Warren broke from their ranks by hosting the Democratic candidate at Saddleback for a Q-and-A. Noting his broad appeal, Time called Warren “America’s Preacher.”

Help the Religion and Media Interest Group complete its collection of archived newsletters. If you have a newsletter not listed here, please scan it and e-mail it to Debra Mason. E-mail Debra if you prefer to mail or fax the newsletter.